Homeless, a Mother, a teenager, and Somehow Loved
by Ms. Jessica Cullen
Summary: I looked down at my freezing daughter, Nessie, in tears, I screamed, wanting to help her, do anything to help her. "Hello, miss? do you need any help with your daughter?" that's how my story with Edward Cullen began. Part Crack Fic!
1. Is Hope Real? Yes

**Disclaimer- I don't own twilight.**

**I am writing the beginning as a tragedy for Bella and her daughter, but bear with me please.**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

When you're a mother, you're supposed to be pregnant and spending time with the man you love, you're supposed to argue of paint for a room. Everything is a big experience.

I didn't get to do that… instead…

I sat, huddled on a park bench, shivering. I was wearing a mud stained and ripped sweats and almost a shirt. My hair was matted together in an uncomfortable sticky mess.

I was crying, but not because of my condition, no, because my 3 year old daughter was sobbing against my chest, her tiny body shaking from not having food in a while. Nessie was my daughter, she was truly terrified of our life, but she would never say anything, she cared about me too much, I didn't deserve her love.

It was late at night and rain was pouring down on my pathetic form. I kept kissing her tiny, purple face as my tears mixed in with the rain that was matting my hair down to my face. The mud from the prior night's sleep on the pavement was crusted onto my body, and unfortunately, my daughter's. I was screaming out to no one, and no one who passed me by cared, if anything, I was avoided entirely.

I felt Nessie's hand curl against my neck in an attempt to stop my crying, that only made me cry harder. She was trying to comfort me, even though I was the mother, and she was the daughter with zero strength to carry on. It killed me that she was looking at me through lifeless eyes.

A baby, a baby who was meant to laugh was looking at me like that… I had failed, and we both understood that. I cried out again as her eyelids twitched.

Her eyes were drooping and her boney cheeks were almost blue. I could see the desperation and despair in her eyes and I held her tightly in a failed attempt to warm us both. Her toes curled against the small amount of skin I had on my knee as her lips trembled. My body and movements mirrored hers.

I struggled to adjust us so that she was more comfortable but she just coughed and whimpered, the motion hurt her water deprived throat.

Her long hair was pressed into her skin and we had gotten several weird looks from strangers. None of those strangers had stopped to help us, nor given us a second glance.

Nessie coughed again and cried harder. I held her closer and she fell limp in my arms. I started screaming at her to wake up, I could barely register any movement around me. My tears fell over and over in mix with the rain.

It was my worst nightmare. I had ruined a life, and no one cared, the guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders as I shook, trembling from the pain of failure and loneliness and the icy cold air.

I felt pressure on the other side of me. I looked up through my teary eyes to see a mass of what looked like soft, melted honey and bronze. I looked down a little more and saw a bright spring green. They were eyes, they looked kind and sincere through my dull, brown ones.

"Excuse me, miss. Would you like me to take a look at you and your daughter?" he said in a velvety voice and I about choked.

I pulled Nessie closer to me and he chuckled. He held out his hand, "My name is Edward Cullen," he spoke over the harsh rain, "I am the head doctor at the hospital, I assure you I only want to help."

I looked at him, then my freezing daughter, who was going to die. With only her in mind, I timidly took his hand, looking at him with wide eyes, and he pulled me up.

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	2. Undeserved Help and Determination

**Disclaimer- I don't own twilight.**

**Alright, bunches of my loyal reviewers wanted more, so here it is!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

My arms still shook as he looked at Nessie as we stood and sat, frozen. I resisted the urge to glare at him, but it was hard. There was nothing more I wanted to do than glare at this man who was examining my daughter in the rain.

My lips trembled and my eyes watered as I looked at my daughter, even though she was still in my arms, it felt unsafe and that tore me apart. She almost looked safer in this man's arms and I hated that. A mother's arms should be the safest place for a child. My body was cold and my stomach growled but it didn't even register in my brain. My daughter's cries were as sharp as lightening in my ears as her tiny purple face was not frightening in contrast to her beet red eyes.

She was in his arms, and I was crying, my hands covering my cheeks, nose, and mouth. Her body was shaking and I was frozen where I was sitting.

"Miss? I'm sorry, but we really need to rush this along if your daughter wants help." I shivered at the velvety sound of his voice and bit my lip. I chastised myself for even thinking this man as agreeable. He would hurt me. He _will _hurt me. But he was the only chance my daughter had, so I reluctantly had to put my daughter in his care.

I was instantly alert and popped up from where I was. I bumped into him and he steadied me as he gently pulled my arm to a car. His hand we burning through my arm and licks of fire spread through my arm and I gasped, shivering from the feeling but my eyes widened, frightened.

He gave Renesmee back to me and helped us into the car. I clutched her to my chest as sobs raked through me, her tiny body shaking and cold.

He jumped into the driver's side of the Volvo and he drove, biting his lip all the while. My vision was blurred by tears and my lips still shook and I suddenly felt Renesmee being taken out of my arms and I whimpered from the lonely feeling I just so suddenly took over.

"C-can… is… she… going…" my voice was hoarse from years of non-use and I could barely speak through sobs.

He looked like he understood me perfectly and spoke back in a husky voice. "I'll try my best, mam, but she looks like she's been through a lot," he looked to me for a second, "So do you… just hold on."

He turned the car and his muscles tightened underneath his shirt, I averted my eyes to my crying daughter, who was whimpering and screaming in my lap, my tears came back full force.

I crushed my knees to my chest and I vaguely heard the name 'Alice!' being called in a very strong voice.

I felt my body being pulled into somewhere warm by strong arms, after Nessie was pulled out of my lap.

I wiped the tears out of my eyes to find that it was a bathroom, I looked around in awe, I hadn't seen one of these in too long.

I looked around and saw a smiling little girl; I screamed and ducked my head.

The smile wiped off of her face. "Oh! I'm sorry! I- I thought, well, you looked like you were enjoying yourself, there is a shower here and I laid some clothes outside."

She took the question straight out of my mouth, "Your daughter is being taken care of, Edward is trying his best, and she'll be fine."

Edward. That was his name…

I nodded, still with my guard up and she left quietly, I made sure to lock the door was locked before slowly removing my clothes and using my old memories to turn on the shower, I stepped in and was shocked by the cold, I had forgotten to wait for the heat.

I timidly put my head under the water, reveling in the feeling of it but having my eyes sting from being open, but I couldn't keep them closed for too long.

I washed all of the dirt off of my body and hair. I felt the heavy dirt sink down and I looked at the floor of the shower, dirt covered it, my hair was hard to wash in it's ratty mess… but I managed with a comb.

I grabbed shampoo and conditioner and I stepped out quickly and scrubbed my hair out with a towel and wrapped it around me and I looked in the mirror, I gasped, my hair was a lush brown color and my wide brown eyes matched it perfectly. I looked so much like I did when I was younger…

My skin still poked through my bones and that was unattractive but I had potential… and my eyes brightened somewhat.

I looked at an unopened tooth brush and I timidly read the note on top, saying it was for me.

I used it, and I walked out into a master bedroom, I noticed a t shirt and jeans on the bed and I scrambled into them, I quietly entered the hallway.

I looked around the hallway looked really nice hinting that the rest of the house was nice as well. 'Wow… who knew that tonight I would get a place to stay that was this…. Nice. Wait what am I saying I need to find…'

"Ah are you looking for your daughter?" A man who was tall and large almost like a body builder or football player with dark hair asked me. I nodded but mid nod my stomach betrayed my hunger that I had been trying to ignore. "Well before we go find her and Edward you need to eat first. By the way my name's Emmett my sister is Alice the girl who you saw earlier before you showered."

--

Finally after eating as little as I could so I wouldn't get sick all over the floor but was no longer as hungry as I was the same man from before, I think his name was Emmett, led me down a hall then we took five turns up the stairs then ended up in a medium sized room not the usual white I was expecting but a soft baby blue color.

I saw the man who had treated Renesmee. I think his name was Edward.

"Ah Miss…" He started

"B-Bella, sir"

"Ok, Bella your daughter is sleeping just through the door. Right now she is on general antibiotics, until I can figure out exactly what is wrong."

"C-Can I-I…" my voice cut off it hurt just to talk.

"Yes you can as soon as I check you over, I can tell just looking at you that you're under weight and malnourished, but that is to be expected, f you could please sit on the table over there thank-you." The voice was practiced and robotic, he had said this many times before.

I shakily made my way to the table and eased up on to it the cold metal soaked into my bones and I shivered involuntarily.

He turned around and put down his clip board and walked over to me.

"Have you eaten Bella?"

"Y-yes, Emmett? Yes… he fixed me some food after my shower."

He smiled, "Good, Bella, first, I want to talk to you about your daughter…"

"Renesmee."

"Renesmee, alright, she is fine, malnourished, but I think looking over that she will progress fine."

Yeah, until we're back on the streets again, "Thanks for helping us, really, we won't be a bother. We'll be leaving now."

He looked shocked, worried, and confused. "Bella, I'm not sure that's a good idea…"

I spoke in a soft voice, "Where else am I supposed to go…"

"Bella, I want you and Renesmee to stay here until you're better. Then, we'll figure all this out."

I looked up into his eyes.

"I c-can't impose on you we'll be leaving…"

He gazed intently back at me, and I gulped. "Bella please if you go back to the streets or shelters you are not going to get any better you will be staying here until I find you somewhere safe to go."

Looking into his eyes no matter how much I wanted to I knew couldn't say no to him I was unable.

"Until Renesmee is better.." I mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"We'll stay until Renesmee is better, if you insist, I don't want to be a bother, so we c-can leave early if need be."

He sighed, "You _will_ be better, so will Renesmee."

I smiled weakly, but it was fake, my insides were all melted together.

"I need to see her."

This stranger nodded and led me to a room where my daughter was.

I gasped and my eyes watered, it might have been alright if _I _wasn't in the best shape of my life, but her, she was ghost-like, skin and bones.

I started crying and her pale head popped up and she smiled, "Mamma, please stop crying."

I wiped my eyes with shaky hands and walked up to her, and took the barely there child into my arms and just held her. I slowly turned around and kissed her head.

"I-I'm sorry, but what is your name?" it kept slipping my mind… it started with an E.

He blushed, a very endearing look he could pull off. He shouldn't, though, he had, in fact, told me his name before, I just didn't know it yet.

"I'm sorry, my name is Edward, Edward Cullen."

This name suited him, very much. I held her closer to me and walked up to Edward, "It's nice to meet you Edward."

He smiled, "Likewise, Bella." I felt Renesmee's stomach growl.

"Can she get something to eat?"

Edward nodded and motioned for us to walk out after him.

Renesmee snuggled into my chest as we saw the man from before, Emmett, in the kitchen with a tall chef's hat and apron that said, 'kiss the cook'.

He wore a big grin and I hesitantly walked into the kitchen with my three year old daughter.

Emmett talked with a big, booming voice. "Get ready! Foooooooooor! Food a la Emmett!"

I shrunk back into myself but sat down next to the delicious looking food in front of me, I licked my lips, but this food was not for me, I told her to start eating and she did.

I sat there, watching her eat. She looked happy, but I was hungry. I couldn't bring that up though.

This wasn't for me. I must have looked hungry though because Emmett placed a large stack of French toast in front of me. I licked my lips, said a small thanks and dug in.

Once she and I finished eating we both leaned back, entirely too full.

"Thank you."

"Yoooooooooour welcome! Come again soon!" he bowed and ran out of the room, Edward came in and rolled his eyes.

"Bella, may I ask you a few questions?"

I nodded mutely.

He looked at a chart, very serious.

"How old are you and your daughter Bella?"

"Well, I'm 19 and Renesmee is 3."

"_19?"_

I nodded, kind of pissed.

He continued. "alright, would you mind telling me what had happened to you?"

I drew in a shaky breath, "Take your time, no need to hurry."

I looked at my daughter on my lap, the sleepy smile on her face as she slept.

"Please start from the beginning."

"alright, whe- when I was 15, I was working at my part time job downtown."

He frowned disapprovingly, "Bella, that's a dangerous part of town."

"I know that. _ Now._"

He frowned, already anticipating my story. "Go on."

My breath was shaky, "I was c-clocking out one day, and… and my boss wanted to see me in his office. He ended up giving me a raise and I was so excited and I was calling my mother to tell her about the news."

I closed my eyes for a moment to continue.

"she picked up and before hearing the news she quickly told me she was jogging and c-couldn't talk. She had obviously forgotten about picking me up so I started walking."

My voice was getting hoarse and my eyes were tearing up again, "I rounded the last c-corner of 78th street and I got pulled into a c-corner. I was _15_, I didn't know what was happening. The man was large and bald but I c-can't remember anything else. I just remember my stomach growing about a month later. I- I got scared, and I ran, I ran away. I was so ashamed."

By now I was full out balling, "I-I never knew how everything worked, I mean… I had a _child_ on a park bench. A woman stopped to help me but then I ran again, with my daughter, scared."

My chest shook and my fingers trembled on my leg as he listened intently.

"I-I never meant it to happen! And… and it's not even my fault! I love her, I do, but it took my life away, Edward!"

I felt two arms encircle me and my daughter being lifted off of my lap. I crushed myself into Edward's chest and screamed words that didn't make sense and him shushing me, stroking my hair, and rocking me back and forth.

After a while I was whimpering into his chest and my tears slipped quietly from my eyes. I lifted my head up and his green eyes were soft, they were comforting and concerned.

I saw Renesmee on the couch on a pillow, I looked up at the gorgeous man with his arms around my too small body, and I felt a new found determination surge through me.

I _would_ get better, for myself, for Renesmee, for… for Edward.

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	3. Losing my last ounce of happiness

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**My friend Anna helped me start to write this and the last chapter, I promised 5,000 words and more edge to a certain bluebaby3296 and I plan on delivering!**

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**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

I was scared, I mean, yes, Edward's house was comfortable, but it was also mocking, a tear escaped me and I just wanted control, of myself, of my daughter. I wanted to run away, I had already let Edward in far too much, but last night… he was focused on me and my daughter, it was concern. I didn't know what was happening, I know Edward's a doctor, but I was still scared.

Not only was I scared, I was exhausted, I hadn't gotten sleep the past night and I have this feeling, above my stomach and below my chest that weighs me down.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I went to the bathroom. On my way there, I kept taking second glances everywhere, not liking what I see.

I looked in the mirror of Edward's guest room bathroom and sighed. I found myself to be confused.

I didn't know what was happening, last night, well… I had already known I needed to improve on myself for my daughter, and for myself, but… that last moment… I looked into Edward's green eyes, so full of concern for _me._

The first time I had seen Edward, his whole demeanor lit up with happiness and I immediately resented him for it, but this was looking past his vanity. I would be blind to be unobservant of his looks. I've been distracted lately but I pushed my daughter to the forefront of my mind.

It made me want to wash that worry away, to get better to make him care free; it also made me furious. I could see my wall being taken down. How dare I know someone for such a small amount of time, and yet let them take me over this easily! I shouldn't, and won't.

I had to come up with something.

I glared at my reflection. I shouldn't- couldn't have _any _inappropriate feelings! He is helping me and my daughter make it. I focused on rebuilding my wall, making myself untouchable to the outside world, on thinking of Edward as the enemy; in other words, isolating myself to my daughter.

I mean, I had no idea where I was going after this… I wanted to run away now, to get it all over with.

I pushed all feelings away and focused _only_ on myself and my daughter. I used the things that the little girl with black, spiky hair had gotten me and made myself presentable. I gave myself another warning glance before exiting the room to get Renesmee breakfast.

Today, I would be guarded, even though he appears to be helping, he's still a stranger and I need to be careful, only letting my daughter inside of my wall.

Edward had made food and was playing with Renesmee at the table, pouring maple syrup on her pancakes while she asked him questions.

I was scared, Renesmee shouldn't get too attached to him. I was also short tempered from his getting along with her.

I sat in silence while I ate, all the while making sure Renesmee was eating, I smoothed her copper hair away from her tiny face and she beamed up at me, her face maintaining a healthy, although small, glow.

I let out a sigh of relief, but shook with fear and worry about what would happen to us when we were on our own again. I let out a shaky breath as I looked at Edward from across the table.

I felt my heart beat a twinge faster and my eyes narrow, I felt something that was unfamiliar and a small ounce of gratitude and anger.

I stayed silent as he looked at me questioningly, he looked almost to be debating something, I opened my mouth to speak but Renesmee spoke first.

"Mamma, can we play a game?"

I smiled and kissed her head, "Sure baby, what do you want to play?"

"Hide and seek! I couldn't sleep last night so I talked to Emmett and we played and it was really fun!"

I felt my guard go up. "Emmett?"

"Yeah! He's cool."

I nodded and turned to Edward, I had only met the guy once and he was… eccentric.

Edward nodded, "Emmett has three children of his own, he is alright." I thought for a moment. Any parent has to be devoted enough to care for other children… fine.

I let out my breath and nodded, "Sure hon! That sounds great!"

"Can Edward play too?"

"I don't know, you have to ask him." I almost punched myself, she would miss him when we left.

She turned her head towards him with an eager expression. He chuckled and covered his eyes.

"One, two, three…"

Renesmee grabbed my hand and giggled her way to the back of the couch.

"nine, ten! Ready or not! Here I come!"

Renesmee laughed loudly but Edward, playing along, didn't 'notice'.

"Bella. Renesmee. I'm going to find you!" Renesmee laughed and Edward jumped over the couch and started to tickle me and Renesmee. We laughed and begged to be let go but he showed no mercy. Renesmee wiggled out of his grip and he got on top of me to keep tickling me, tears of laughter came from my eyes.

He abruptly stopped and looked down at me, his green eyes bored into mine, my breath hitched in my throat.

I couldn't set myself up for this again! Just because a very, very attractive man helps you out doesn't mean you have any connection with him.

I cleared my throat and he jumped off of me. I took my daughter in my arms and she was playing with the hem of the shirt that the nameless little girl gave me and Edward spoke up.

"I think it would be best if I did daily check up's on you and Renesmee until I'm satisfied you're going to be fine."

"Renesmee first."

He nodded. "Alright, but I think we may have more problems with you, Bella."

My brows furrowed together, but I would gladly take away all of Renesmee's pain and add it to my own.

I followed Edward into his exam room and he gently took Renesmee away from me, I wrapped my arms around myself, a common occurrence these days.

He set her on a table and took her pulse and breathing and then he set her back down.

She spoke in a very adorable voice, "Am I healthy yet Dr. Edward?"

He chuckled at her, "Almost, Renesmee, almost. But, you are moving along beautifully!"

She smiled brightly at him and her little head jumped down, "Mamma can I watch cartoons?"

I looked to Edward and he nodded without hesitation, "Yeah, baby, you can."

"'kay!" she hopped out of the room and I bit my lip, my arms still wrapped around me, as if they provide some sort of protection.

He motioned me forward with a worried expression.

He patted the cold table and I sat on it.

"I don't mean to touch any sensitive areas here, Bella, but I'm quite worried… may I be so inclined to ask some questions?"

I held my mid section tighter and nodded, reluctant and guarded.

"I'm worried about the actual birth of Renesmee… you said yesterday about only one woman helping you, would you tell me what that entailed?"

"Well… she helped me to c-clean off Renesmee and then she wanted, no, insisted to take me to the hospital… and… and I ran."

He looked disapproving, "You ran? In so much pain, after child birth, you could've been killed by the pain."

"It didn't matter, I just ran." Guard slipping… and up again, with more force.

"I'm sure that Renesmee was fine after that, but what about you? Your body? Did you feel any pain?"

I laughed. "As if! There wasn't any worse pain I have ever felt! It lasted for well…um… and the bleeding… I don't know but the pain is intense."

"You say the pain _is_ intense? It's still going on?" He looked angry and I shrank back, his face immediately retained its former calm essence and I leaned up a little.

I squirmed in my seat, "Well… yes… but I always, always made sure Renesmee was fine so it never mattered."

His face turned soft, his eyes intense, "Bella…" His hand swept up to cup my cheek, I leaned into it, "You will _always_ matter, you are important."

His words softened into me and I felt myself start to revel in them.

My eyes closed and my face inched closer to his big hand. He leaned forward. I jerked back and panicked, swiping his hand away.

My brain screamed at me to salvage whatever protection I had left.

Once I realized what was happening I jumped off of the table and he had to steady himself on it.

He turned to me with a hurt expression. "I-I'm going to go find Renesmee."

I practically ran out of the room. What had happened? Was he… was he going to _kiss_ me? Would I want him to?

No, there was no way he could care for me, I will make damn sure that I don't get hurt again.

--

Edward had cooked dinner that night and I was completely struck dumb by the fact that… well… this afternoon had happened.

He gave us each a plate of food and we thanked him, he frowned but nodded, making his own way back to his food.

We ate dinner in silence that night, Edward looked slightly dejected but I pretended not to notice, all that was important to me was my daughter.

After we had finished I picked Renesmee up and wiped her mouth off, I said a quick thank you to a silent Edward and we retreated to the guest bedroom.

I set Renesmee in bed and I changed into a silky gown that stopped mid thigh and I looked in the mirror.

I smiled, after a week, just a week, in Edward's care, both Renesmee and myself looked healthy. My bones weren't sticking out of my skin, but I wasn't plain.

There is nothing plain about a scared 19 year old, trembling underneath her skin, with a child; the word was more like… scared, with tons of baggage.

I walked to Renesmee, sleeping soundly with her tiny head on a pillow.

There was a barely audible knock on the door and I whipped around, crouched in front of Renesmee.

I walked carefully towards the door and opened it. Edward stood there, in all of his glory, and my wall went up, arms around myself.

"Bella, may I speak to you?" My eyes narrowed and I looked back at my child, and she was sleeping, I stepped out from behind the door and Edward looked at my outfit, he bit his lip.

"I guess, sure."

I followed him out into the hall, about three feet away. He turned into the exam room and I sat on the exam table.

"Bella, I'm sorry if today my advances were too much, I understand that, and let's just let it go."

I nodded, "Good, alright." He looked disappointed with my answer but I made myself shrug it off.

He frowned and continued. "Bella, today you said that you have been having childbirth pains for three years, correct?"

I said nothing.

He shook his head, "I'm afraid that you might have infections or permanent damage."

"It's not bad, I got used to it. Besides, I'll be okay, as long as Renesmee is okay."

"But, the pain, infections, anything, could be gone, you wouldn't want that?"

I said nothing.

"Unless you want the pains to get worse with age and end up needing heavy surgery or dying in result of the-"

"Fine, maybe I would." I grumbled. I had to admit that the treatment he was offering sounded tempting.

"I'll do a check on your body tomorrow, taking necessary precautions of course."

"What?! What kind of check up?" I asked hesitantly, already regretting giving the opportunity any thought whatsoever.

He smiled apologetically, "A vaginal examination."

My eyes widened and without thinking, I crossed my legs. "No. I'm done, you've helped enough. Goodbye."

I was about to jump off the table, "Bella, wait, I promise, these are precautions we have to take, do you want any permanent damage? I _have_ done this kind of this before, I won't take advantage of you, ever."

I bet that's what every guy would say, I'll take a rain check, we can reschedule for… never.

I averted my eyes, "Um, no. I'm good, the pain isn't bad enough for _that._"

He frowned, "Would you like one of my colleagues to do it?" I don't want anyone to do it…

I was getting angry, "No! don't you get it! I don't want _anyone_ to do it! My body is _mine_! I won't let anyone else have it again! From the time I was 16 it's _mine_!" My eyes were tearing up and I was shaking with anger so I stormed out of the room and cried into Edward's pillow.

I sat up and looked around the room, Edward's room. Nothing here was mine and I felt like a stranger to everything, nothing was familiar and I was just a kid who wanted to hide in her daddy's arms and never come out.

Too bad this girl's dad wouldn't want anything to do with her if he knew her life now.

--

I woke up several times during that past night and it was about 12 o clock and I groaned at lack of sleep and rubbed my head, filled with problems and aches.

I hadn't gotten any sleep, thinking about comparing the pain I was in now, to the utmost horrid possibility of a…a _vaginal_ examination…

My immediate answer would be no, absolutely no. But, I owed it to myself to at least consider it, or did I?

I mean, couldn't he just give me pain medication? An examination would be a bit eccentric, right?

I don't know, maybe I was over thinking it… _but_, it is my body, this should be thought about.

Would getting rid of this intense pain be worth the risk of being taken advantage of, _again_?

No. This was my final decision, I have dealt with this pain for three years. Why not take up a lifetime, right?

Ugh… maybe I didn't have an answer.

I stretched my body out, very frustrated and walked over to the door. I walked outside, a worried crease in my brow, searching for Renesmee. I heard a giggle from downstairs and immediately walked in that direction.

I crossed the hall, rubbing my eye, tired.

I walked about half way down the stairs and saw her, she was laughing and looking at Edward, he was stroking her hair while she gazed at him with an admiration I couldn't consider.

He had her in his arms while dancing to Frank Sinatra's It Happened in Monterey, he spun her and sang the words to her while her curls flopped on her back with every count of the music.

Her laughter echoed through the whole room and her happiness was more than evident on her soft face.

I smiled for a moment before my thoughts returned to their prior engagement, getting Renesmee.

I shifted uncomfortably on the stairs, awaiting the song to be over, anxious for their moment to end. Anxious to separate them and attach Renesmee to me, and only me.

My arms were tucked safely around me while I gently tapped on the ground with my foot. They both immediately noticed me, and Edward handed me Renesmee and I took her eagerly, she frowned.

I was confused at her reluctance to my arms, could I be losing her too? No. That isn't possible. A mother couldn't lose her child, it was a silent rule… no, that was only my imagination…

I looked at Edward, who exited the room into the kitchen. I followed him there, after setting an agitated Renesmee on the couch.

He was grabbing something from the fridge and handed it to me, I set it down without looking to see what it was a looked this beautiful stranger straight in the eye.

"I need to speak with you." Edward sighed and motioned up the stairs. Before turning to follow me, he looked back at Renesmee with a look of admiration that shook me, inside and out.

I hurriedly jumped onto the exam table, averting my eyes to anywhere but him.

"Bella, about yesterday it was past my intentions to make you uncomfortable-"

"Save it, please, I want to say something."

He stood, urging me on. I took a big sigh.

"I was thinking a lot last night, and-" at this point I closed my eyes, "I want to- I want-"

My mind was pushing me to stay quiet, and my heart strained to reach out and trust him, I felt like I was moving in a never ending circle and it made me dizzy.

"I want to… I want… to…" I made my cowardly decision, " forget about it, I don't want to revisit that conversation."

"Even if this hurts you?" He sounded disapproving but I don't give a damn.

"What the hell are you trying to do to me? Why- why do you keep trying to sound like you c-care! Why c-can't… I don't know, why c-can't I understand…" I was shaking as much as a winter leaf and my face was cold and red with clear tears, pouring over my cheeks.

I crushed my face to my knees and when Edward came up to me I shrunk back.

"D-Don't… I… can't, I don't understand, don't hurt me…" My tiny voice mixed my sobs made a bunch of incoherent speech but he seemed to understand.

He gently sat next to me and I vaguely heard him say, "Ah, I will fix you Bella."

My head popped up and I saw his form next to me, I clutched my sides, the memory of being pulled somewhere unfamiliar and learning why my parents had warned me of bad parts of town.

I screamed into my knees, the past memory so vivid that I screamed in protest and held myself in a tight ball, shaking my head and shaking violently.

Thinking that maybe I could stop him if I yelled just loud enough, now. Without a final destination, I clawed at the air in front of me, and with my finding something, held myself to it, holding whatever it was as a barrier around me.

When I felt two warm arms rub my back I knew that the temporary barrier I had found was Edward.

I immediately realized that I had only been reliving it and had shown something personal. I shrank back, yet again, cruelly wiping the tears from my face.

"I-I'm sorry…"

"Shh, I know."

I smiled weakly and again clutched at my sides and looked up at him through shaky and wide eyes.

"Bella, can I ask you why you think it so impossible for me to care for you."

I looked at him, the answer was right in front of his face. "Are you kidding? Edward, this just doesn't happen, I appreciate your help and Renesmee wouldn't be here if not for you, but I'm better off on my own."

"Clearly." I glared at him, gaining anger.

"Sorry, but in all seriousness, you _aren't _better off, and you need help."

"You don't know what I need, Renesmee wasn't a mistake, but my life was ruined because of 'help'. Nothing ever turns out right if you don't do things yourself."

"That's not-"

"Yeah, get it through your head that it indeed _is_ true."

Without another word I hopped off of the table and walked straight for the door.

"If you keep running from your problems, like you are right now, they won't ever be solved."

My hand stalled on the door handle and I reluctantly let it go and turned around and crossed my arms as I sat back up on the table, unwilling.

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding, "Fine, I admit that we do need to talk, but avoiding my problems works for me, any other way just… just _hurts_."

He sighed, "I can assure you with all my heart that I won't hurt you."

"Words don't mean anything, just ask the damn questions." I said in a small voice.

He sighed more strongly this time, but continued on, "Have you been experiencing any pain since yesterday?"

"No." I lied.

He smiled, unsuspecting, "Good. Don't shoo away this idea so quickly, I was wondering if you would be so opposed to therapy."

My eyes shot up to his in anger, "No. Just… no."

"Will you at least consider the possabili-"

"Mamma!" I loud and high voice yelled, searching for me.

I turned to Edward, worried and then we both made our way downstairs, she was laying on the couch and when she saw us she talked, "I'm bored, can we take a walk?"

"Sure hon."

I turned to Edward, "We'll talk later." He nodded and when I led Renesmee to the door she protested, "No! I want Edward to come too!"

I sighed and pinched my nose as Edward shuffled over to us and motioned us out of the door, grabbed three coats.

I held Renesmee's hand and Edward was walking on her other side. She skipped happily along in the middle, talking about a cartoon that had captured her interest this morning.

I nodded and laughed at appropriate times and we had walked for about thirty minutes before she stopped and practically shouted, "Mamma! Edward! Let's go play on that!"

I looked to where she was pointing and jumping at and it turned out to be a play ground.

I laughed and looked at Edward, raising my eyebrows he smiled, "Let's go you guys!"

My strong three year old dragged us both out to the play ground, her first target looking to be the teeter totter.

She pushed Edward to one side and led me to another, he got on, and lowered it so we could get on, I situated Renesmee on and then got on behind her. Over all, the weight was equally distributed and she laughed as Edward made animated sounds and actions, just to stimulate her. I smiled.

She was satisfied with that for about five minutes before she hopped off, causing me to fall off and Edward to help me up and get Renesmee at the same time.

"Sorry mamma…" I laughed, "It's alright baby, what do you want to do next?"

Her eyes brightened up and she pointed to the big, red slide.

We had gone on a total of about a million different things, Renesmee laughing at everything Edward and I tried to do to make her laugh.

As she led us to the swings, I felt the smile on my face and was satisfied, I hadn't smiled this much in a _long_ time, probably since I had been with my parents. I thought momentarily of my loving parents before I came to the conclusion that if they actually loved me, they would've tried to get me home.

Coming to my conclusion I watched my feet in contrast with the moving ground until I heard the laughter beside me stop, I turned to my right to find Renesmee on the ground.

She was covered in tears as she clutched her finger to her chest. It looked red and I reached for her. Just as I was about to cradle her in my arms, Edward reached out in front of me and enveloped her in a comforting hug.

I stood there, absolutely _seething_, here I was, a mother, only wanting to care for her daughter when someone I barely even knew was trying to comfort _my _daughter, right in front of me, the nerve!

Her crying had ceased and her tiny head was laying on his shoulder, he looked at me, to find me shaking in all of this anger I had, I gently yanked her from his arms, silently cursing him, he looked dejected, once again.

He nodded to her bloody finger, and I begrudgingly handed her over, clutching myself instead.

Then he walked away, just _walked away_, leaving me in my own anger and I watched as he sat her dreary form on a water fountain, cleaning off her finger and wrapping it in a paper towel from the restroom.

Once he was satisfied with his job he walked back over to me, _my_ sleeping child in his arms, I took her back into me, and she awoke with a start, "Mamma, let me sleep on Edward."

I barely processed her cutting words in my head, but I vaguely felt her leave my arms.

I stared straight ahead of me, feeling torn apart. Was she really choosing him over me?

Could she? I felt a tear slide down my cheek as I walked as robotically as a mummy, back to the place I both hated and loved.

We entered the house in silence, and looking back at my daughter and this… this stranger… my anger boiled back up to my head, I almost felt steam seep out from my ears as he tucked her into bed.

He turned back to me and I spoke out, "Talk."

"Not here." He sighed and led me to the exam room. He turned to me. Almost impatient.

"Why, the only thing I have control on?! You have to take her love away too?!"

"What do you mean!"

"I mean when I was going to comfort _my _daughter, you were doing it, we're here so you c-can help her! You c-can't take her away too! She's all I've got!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! She was _bleeding_ and I was helping, not stealing her love away as you so blatantly call it. I helped her."

"Yeah, helped her…."

"You know what? I've been patient with you Bella. I've tried not to push you, not to drag you back in here when you would run away. I've tried to treat you, but you won't let me!"

He was raising his voice as high as mine, I got even more angry.

"That's not true! It's my life, I c-can do whatever the hell I want and you are stealing her, did you not see her today?!"

"Back off Bella, she's a _child_! Can you not understand that it would be considered rude to do nothing when a child is hurt!"

"That's _exactly_ what you forced me to do!"

We were both screaming over each other. I wasn't listening to him, and he wasn't listening to me, just screaming our points.

We were screaming so loudly that it almost felt like there was a third rambling voice, but I ignored it and screamed louder. Edward suddenly stopped, his head inclined towards the door, I looked to where he was looking and there was Renesmee, tears on her cheeks and a pillow clutched to her chest.

Her knees were shaking and her mouth quivered as she spoke, "Mamma? Why are you and daddy fighting?"

I froze, replaying the words, the seven words she had spoken, enough to cut my heart into an uncountable number.

'_Mamma? Why are you and daddy fighting?'_

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	4. Want and Realization

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

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Last chapter-

We were screaming so loudly that it almost felt like there was a third rambling voice, but I ignored it and screamed louder. Edward suddenly stopped, his head inclined towards the door, I looked to where he was looking and there was Renesmee, tears on her cheeks and a pillow clutched to her chest.

Her knees were shaking and her mouth quivered as she spoke, "Mamma? Why are you and daddy fighting?"

I froze, replaying the words, the seven words she had spoken, enough to cut my heart into an uncountable number.

'_Mamma? Why are you and daddy fighting?'_

Throughout my life as a teenage mother, I had always made Renesmee my first priority. She had asked of her father only once. My face must have displayed the hurt I felt when she had asked, because she said 'never mind' and went to sleep, I had watched her sleep and cried.

When she would become an adult, she would have the same life as I had, and that wasn't alright, her father was scum… and I never had a choice.

The only thing I remember about that night was that Renesmee had wondered and wanted to know her scum bag father, who raped a 15 year old…

I remember that night perfectly.

_Flashback-_

_I watched the cars flash by as my shivering daughter blew out warm air, casing the frosty air to turn white. I forced myself to hold back tears for my two year old, she would want to comfort me, and I had to be the one to comfort her._

"_Mamma… I'm cold."_

_I stifled a sob as I pulled her close, trying to maintain body heat with her._

"_I'm sorry baby." She smiled against me and yawned._

"_mamma? Do I have a daddy."_

_I took a struggled breath and closed my eyes, I had prepared myself for this question when she was born._

_I thought back to that day, of horrid dread and shivered. A tear of woe, pity, and loneliness escaped my eye and she patted my head._

"_It's okay Mamma, I only want a Mamma anyways, never mind." She yawned again and succumbed to sleep, my silent sobs running through her muddy hair._

_I huddled against the corner with her as my premeditated speech completely fell out of my head._

_This, right now, was the worst pain I had ever felt, my daughter having a life like me._

_End flashback-_

The pain that I had felt that night? That was bad, I felt protective and scared.

But this pain? The pain of knowing that Renesmee thought of this… this gorgeous, I admit, though stranger as a _father_?

This pain felt like ice chips, not only cutting through my skin, but running over my heart, letting me know that it would be cut. Just waiting to die.

In every pain I had ever felt, I had cried, but I felt nothing but sharp and breath stealing and searing pain. It was a cold pain, but I felt like fire, my skin was igniting with anger, like hot lava being poured over me.

I felt like my blood was freezing as my mind drew a blank, as tears refused to form, because the impossibility of that last uttered sentence was just _so_ unreal and_ so_ painful.

I was shaking, worse than ever before, my mind was swirling. My suspicions were right, I was losing her to someone she barely knew.

I felt misguided as my eyes opened and closed, perfectly matching my mouth. I felt like needles were piercing through my scorching skin as my crazy wide eyes searched for something that made sense.

I attached myself to something and turned my, shaking so hard it was almost dysfunctional body to the said 'father'.

He had his arms tied behind his back and his eyes latched to me, his face red, almost smiling.

My eyes widened with so much fear, I could see the… the _love_ for her in his eyes and the love for… for _him _in hers.

I crashed with a bang to the ground, tears finally kicking in, I had actually _lost_ Renesmee.

My mind was running in circles, as my eyes clouded with tears and fear. I had nothing, absolutely _nothing_ now.

My mind told me to do the same thing my heart was telling me to do, so for once, I didn't have to choose which one to follow.

I ran.

In shakes and fear, I ran past Renesmee and her new favorite father. I heard screams of Renesmee but _he_ would probably comfort her anyways.

I nearly crushed the door down as adrenaline pushed me to sprint to the farthest place on the planet from where I had just been.

I don't know how long it had been while I was running, but when I left the day was still bright, now disappearing.

I would leave, if they loved each other so much, then I wasn't needed.

Renesmee would be better off with him anyways, he could bring her to school… get her things… teach her… love her even, no matter how bad the thought was.

She was three, she wouldn't remember me anyways…

If only at all. I shivered from the cold and slowed down to a walk. I looked down to notice I was only clad in knee length pants and a tank top with slippers.

I immediately stopped where I was. My body, on top of all of the other unfair emotions taking me over, was completely numb, walking forward in a trance, transfixed on any and every object.

My mouth shuttered along with my body with the weather as I looked at signs, trying to figure out where I was. I took no notice of anything, I had _no _idea where I could be.

Only one thought kept some of my fears away, Renesmee was safe and happy with… Edward… and she wasn't going to suffer with me. Because, I did know one thing, I wasn't going to thrive very long, with no motives.

--

I leaned up onto my elbows, one hand rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and my brows closing together, from the harsh light of the sun.

Once my eyes did adjust, I looked to my right, bushes… I turned to my left and was startled, I saw a pole right next to my face and I looked up to find a bench right next to my face.

I leaned out from behind it to find a street, busy with cars. I was still looking around as I scrambled to sit atop the bench, my back cracked as I sat and I whimpered in pain. I felt my hair, trying to smooth the leaves and mud out, ineffectively.

It wasn't until I saw my white breath give color to the sharp, cold air that I shivered.

I looked down at my legs, scraped from the pavement and almost purple from the frost.

My arms matched their appearance and I was more than sure my face matched it, I held my legs to my chest, trying to heat up as the activities of the past day came crashing down in my mind.

Fighting with Edward over losing Renesmee.

Losing Renesmee.

Running.

Here.

I know I skipped some things but it just… it just hurt too much to relive any of it.

A leaf was pushing up against my thigh and I held it, I noticed it matched my skin in both the trembling and the color.

I held it above my knees as I watered it with all my young tears.

The sharp pang of a cold wind hit me like a ton of bricks as I shivered from the freeze. The leaf flew away and I realized, looking around, that I had no one, and nothing to live for anymore.

That cold morning, I poured out every single tear I had kept in over the past three years, crying from pain when strong wind would cover my scantily clad body.

The next wind hit me, and I screamed in the utmost terror. This most unbearable pain was only _half_ from the wind, the other half was from the deep and intense _need_ I had to be safe and with my… family…

I cried out in pain as I shivered and held myself together, people passing by me not giving me a second glance.

In that moment, through all the pain, I realized that I didn't want to be here. And… that I was wrong.

So _very_ wrong about Edward and his kindness, I'm an idiot. It has finally been proven... Why did I have to be so thick headed? He was trying to help, he had reached out his hand and I ignored it.

It was now that I realized that I lost, that by giving up that comforting hand, I had pushed away a new beginning, someone to help.

And just _look_ where it got me, crying out in the most unbearable pain I had ever endured.

The only time in the past two months or so, that Edward was here when he was unavailable.

The only time I would have accepted that oh so tempting hand! He had withdrawn it and given up faith in me.

Someone had wanted to help and just because I was scared I became the most pathetic person on the face of the planet.

And. It was only_ then_ that I realized the biggest mistake of my life. That mistake was the very thing that I had put up for everyone.

My guard and shield of my mind, had landed me in this completely absurd amount of pain.

My guard had ruined me.

I sat there, wallowing and screaming in my own giant puddle of misery, wishing for my daughter, and wishing… for that hand, and that beautiful, comforting face I had pushed away.

I had only then decided to take down my guard for him, when his faith was gone, along with his hand.

--

I woke up the next day, colder and more miserable than the last, the pain still searing in the all parts of my body…

My face held no expression, having cried myself dry yesterday. I was so numb that I hadn't even felt the once freezing wind hit me, although I knew it was still freezing.

I remembered looking at Renesmee's confused face as I ran, and looking back at a blushing and happy Edward.

I realized now that I hadn't ever lost Renesmee, she had only had another person to look up to.

And I also realize looking at Edward's beautiful face, that getting lost in his eyes and wanting him to comfort me wasn't wrong.

Here I was, sniffling, wanting his arms around me. I wanted him to hold me, to revel in his smell and hide under his chin.

To let him fix me.

I decided to let my mind, for just a moment, feel like I was in the comfort of his arms, to feel free.

To like him… as much as I did without my guard deluding myself into thinking of him as the enemy.

The most tragic part of this… I would never get to fix my mistake. I sniffled as I stood, filled with my pain internally and in my back…

I hadn't eaten in who knows how long, but I wanted Emmett's food, yeah, I missed the crazy, eccentric man who made my daughter happy.

I had been too busy in trying to protect my daughter to think that maybe, just maybe I should just be happy because she was happy.

But no, my guard, my stupid guard thought of him as trouble. Sobs racked through my almost frozen form and I wondered just how much longer I would last.

My sobs caused my iced and dried lungs to strive for air, making me gasp and cough, losing air to my sobs.

With apprehension and nervousness, I stood from the icy, metal bench and tried to propel my legs forward.

My arms wrapped around myself as I could see my breath color the air, I was far too numb to feel the cold sensations of the wind cover my arms. My heart beat felt faint and I tried to walk faster, to help it pump blood.

My legs stumbled on every crack in the pavement and my fingers were a faint black color. Another sob tore through me and my lungs struggled to regain the much needed air.

I looked down to see my purple knees wobble with every step I took, and my toes curl at the cold contact of the freezing pavement. How I wish I still had my slippers.

I walked a couple more steps, my frozen eyes watching the people passing me give me more room than I needed.

I sighed, a move I should not have endeavored, my lungs held themselves as I coughed into the frozen air. My lungs, although minutes later, gathered more air and my nostrils tried to push out the cold air I was trying to force in.

I closed my eyes, my eyes burning from the sensation. I gasped from it and my eyes shot open, I struggled to keep them that way in order to avoid the pain.

I kept my eyes on every person that walked by. They were all generally avoiding me, my eyes deceiving me.

I gasped and screamed in excitement, my frozen legs bounced up and down, not believing what I was seeing.

I was so happy it was unbearable, there, only five steps away, was Edward, _Edward_, right here!

Before thinking about it, I threw myself into his arms, I whispered I'm sorry over and over, through my tears of joy.

When he was silent I looked up.

Only to see the astonished, stunned, and disgusted face of a man I had never met.

"Get off of me!"

He pushed past me, along with others, leaving me with my icy cold hand over my mouth, not believing what had just happened.

It was so _real_. The eyes, the mouth, the nose, the everything… was all in my head?

I sobbed and ignored the fire in my lungs as I grieved over my mistake. Only one thought went though my head as the next strong, blustering wind tackled me to the ground, people stepping past me.

'_what have I done.'_

--

I screamed out in agony as a rain as painful as a sandstorm took me over the next day, my wet clothing giving me intense chills. My eyes were flooding with tears as I screamed out again.

I tried to get up off of the metal and cold bench and walk forward, through the piercing rain and my own terrified screams.

My legs wanted to give up, from force of walking so much in the past week. I cried as I pictured Edward and Renesmee right now.

_Vision of Edward and Renesmee-_

"_Daddy! Can I have some ice cream?"_

"_Sure, that's why we're here, what do you want hon?"_

"_Chocolate!" Edward chuckles and talks to the cashier._

"_Can we have two chocolate ice creams please?" he hands her a twenty and they sit down, happy._

_Renesmee takes her first bite, "Yum! Thanks daddy!"_

"_No problem." He smiles at her._

"_So… uh… dadda I forgot… what are we celebrating again?"_

_He smiles brightly at her, "We, my beautiful daughter, are celebrating a new family, and the fact that your uptight mother isn't here to stop us." _

_She giggles, "Oh yeah, I celebrate to that!"_

_She holds up her chocolate covered spoon and he chuckles and clinks his with hers, both grateful for their reason to celebrate._

"_Thanks daddy, this is way better than anything Mamma could ever do."_

_He smiles, "I know. You're welcome, babe."_

_They laugh._

_End visual and exit the ice cream store with epic waves…_

I cried out as the vision of what was probably happening right now took me over. This was reality though, and I had to accept that I had ruined all possibilities of going back, they were _so_ much better off without me.

This, what was happening to me right now, harsh rain and the pain, is what they both wanted for me.

I sobbed at that thought, it was most likely too as well…

My head was turning in all sorts of directions and finally stopped at an alley way, there was a heater at the end.

I tried as hard as I could, to walk towards it, once my body made it there I was overtaken by the small amount of heat it provided.

I swirled my body to the heat, although the hard rain was too great in order for me to get warm, I still felt it.

My body stopped abruptly at the sound of a menacing laugh behind me. My feet pivoted to where the ferocious sound was. What I saw horrified me.

A man, probably around the age of 35 stood there, tapping his foot and sliding what looked like a _very_ sharp knife between his leather clad fingers in a threatening way.

He was flanked by two older men, both holding sleek, black hand guns in one hand and all three had a gallon of Jack Daniel's hanging off of their belts.

Their attire was equally horrifying, they were wearing oversized white shirts and black jeans, their feet clad in boots and spikes around their necks.

I took a timid step back, looking around for a way to escape. When I saw none, my back hit the wall and I slid to the ground, cowering.

They looked at each other and smirked, drunk.

They all stepped forward at once. I screamed at one sentence. "Looks like we get to have some fun tonight boys, I call her legs. Go."

I screamed and tried to run forward, but they caught me and through me to the wall, my head banging against the wall, I felt sticky fluid on my neck.

I realized then that the mistake I had made wasn't only grave and stupid. It was fatal.

**I stayed up ALL night last night writing this, so review and tell me what you think of it!**

**If you didn't understand, the drunk idiots are cannibals, not vampires, CANNIBALS. **

**Just because I said so. Do you think I will kill her and make the story about Nessie and Eddie? Tell me what you think.**

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	5. Bella? Dead or Alive EPOV

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay… I am officially dedicating this chapter to TwilightLover1217, she, is the sole reason for my getting this chapter out so fast, and, not only that, unassumingly gave me this idea. I loved the whole cannibal comment, I don't think you're slow… all that much.**

**Everyone, applaud her.**

**Angel27eyes- you're smarter than I gave you credit for.**

**Juliemoonstar- your review about the cannibals also made me laugh… that idea came from my twisted mind, my friend…**

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**Answer this one!**

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**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

Their attire was equally horrifying, they were wearing oversized white shirts and black jeans, their feet clad in boots and spikes around their necks.

I took a timid step back, looking around for a way to escape. When I saw none, my back hit the wall and I slid to the ground, cowering.

They looked at each other and smirked, drunk.

They all stepped forward at once. I screamed at one sentence. "Looks like we get to have some fun tonight boys, I call her legs. Go."

I screamed and tried to run forward, but they caught me and through me to the wall, my head banging against the wall, I felt sticky fluid on my neck.

I realized then that the mistake I had made wasn't only grave and stupid. It was fatal.

This chapter-

I heard a menacing chuckle from three different sources as tears clouded my eyes and I screamed in shaking terror.

The one on the left stuck out his lip in extreme exaggeration. I cowered into my tiny corner.

He stepped forward.

"Aww, Mike, look, our dinner is scared." All three laughed and my shaking and blue knees stood in a pathetic effort to fight.

The middle one with greasy hair snorted and grabbed me by the hair, I sobbed and whimpered.

Blood was seeping through his hand.

He smirked and leaned my head up so he had a good angle on my neck, I struggled to get out of his grip but he motioned the other two forward to hold me down, he licked his lips.

"If you think this hurts, darling," he said while tightening his grip on my hair, I screamed, "then you have something coming."

"You… you bastard… you c-cant do this!"

He loosened his grip and I fell to the ground, "She's right boys."

I sat there, stunned, my attempts at escape failed but words worked? I didn't care, I stood up, and winced. I took a small step forward and they burst out laughing.

The middle, disgusting one spoke. "Aww, she thinks we're going to let her go. It's comical…"

I gulped and he spoke, "Let's take her back home, we can eat in comfort."

I screamed for help, then everything went black with a punch of a fist. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but my attempts were iced over.

--

Edward's point of view.

I had. I _had_ tried. I had been patient, at least… as much as I was capable of.

I had tried to be patient with Bella. Everything I did happened to be wrong to her, I tried to kiss her, that was too forward, but… when someone so perfect is but a foot away from you, you aren't supposed to let it go.

I tried to help her with her medical position, apparently that was too forward.

I had tried to build a relationship with her, but she was 'better' on her own…

Sick definition of better…

Lastly, I tried to build a relationship with her daughter, but no, apparently her daughter wasn't supposed to have a healthy role model…

I slammed my fist down onto the table, breathing in heavily and closing my eyes, my food in my mouth still un-chewed.

I heard a tiny whimper on the opposite side of the table.

I looked over to see a tiny little girl, with her lip quivering.

I immediately sighed and regretted my actions. I stood up and sat next to the chair beside my tiny girl. I wrapped my arms protectively around her and kissed her head.

"D-Daddy… when's she coming back…"

I sighed, "Why do you call me daddy?"

She wiped her eyes, looking uncomfortable, "W-well… once, when I was extra, extra little, I asked mamma what a daddy was when I heard someone say it once. She said that a daddy was, in my case, a piece of whatever scum is. And she said in her case, a daddy was someone who you love and doesn't want to do you harm… and well… I…"

I hugged her again, "I love you Renesmee…" no matter how much I wanted to deny it, in the past two months, Renesmee became my daughter, to me.

Just as much as I considered Renesmee a part of my family, I considered Bella a bigger part, I missed her.

Before I had seen the miserable, confused, yet endearing woman on that park bench, holding her dying child, I could see that she only had that child to keep her company.

I guess I could understand that by building a relationship with all she had, that she had been angry and confused.

But, could she also have been so oblivious to not realize that I had been trying to build a relationship with her too?

She had been so, so broken, I wanted, no, needed to help her.

She had made it clear on an abundant amount of occasions that didn't want my help, but as much as I tried to respect her wishes and only help her daughter, I- I couldn't bring myself to let her suffer…

I had tried to help, I was _desperate _to help her.

Yes, at times, my attempts may have been forward, but I was frustrated with her, she never considered anything I had said. She contradicted anything she didn't agree with, and she never made anything easy.

She didn't make it easy to be helped, and that was why I needed to help her.

Although, in my eyes she is gorgeous, and I never minded when she tried to push me away, almost nothing she did made me angry. Only that night when I had blown my top over the fact that I had tried to help her daughter.

She didn't like it when I helped either her or Renesmee.

She is messed up, she is angry, she is confused, she is overly protective, she is thickheaded and strong willed.

But, I couldn't bring myself to push her away, I had an almost overpowering _need_ to be around her and to fix her.

That, is how I knew I loved her.

The woman I loved, I found her screaming on a park bench, she was thick headed, cunning, snide, loving at times, but she was perfect to me.

And she didn't even know it.

Wait… back up…. '_I found her screaming on a park bench'_

The park bench… the park bench!

I jumped in astonishment of where my Bella might be.

I unwrapped one arm from Renesmee and whipped out my phone.

"Alice? Can you look after Renesmee for a while?"

--

Once Alice arrived I sped out of the door, not even bothering with a car. I sprinted to the exact place to where I had found Bella, only two more blocks.

To think that I might actually find my Bella, and do things right this time…

It was like having another chance…

Another chance to be even _more_ patient with my love, Bella… to do things right…

To give her a choice and a chance to fall for me, whatever her choice.

I stared down at my feet, taking turns hitting the ground, excitement filling my blood and adrenaline kicking in.

My chest heaved with anticipation as I rounded the corner of the last block.

My eyes immediately darted to the park bench, and my heart soared.

From where I was all I could see was brown hair but my excitement made it hard to search for other details.

The smile on my face was exceeding any one that my face had ever had. I quickly approached her, "Bella!"

The brown haired woman turned around, but she was definitely _not_ my Bella. She smiled and walked towards me.

I think I choked on my own excitement, every ounce of hope I had of getting another chance had vanished…

I would never get to prove myself…

I sighed, disappointed and angry, on the verge of tears, and walked away, almost robotically.

I almost didn't even notice when I crashed into a pole, I kept on walking.

I was incredibly worried, Bella had been on her own for a long time, but I wanted her in _my_ house, by _my_ side. Under _my_ care.

I wanted my Bella… and if, No, when I saw her again, I would take things slowly, let her get used to the idea of me… us…

I shouldn't flatter myself… she would never want me anyways.

I can't believe I was actually thinking about this! Bella was gone…

--

Bella's point of view.

When I woke up I had pain in every single muscle and every single nerve of my body. I screamed in pain as my body shook.

I was strapped down to a table in the middle of a plain white room.

My eyes scrunched together in confusion as I tried to free myself from my restraints. I kicked at the steel table. I groaned in frustration, giving the table one last kick.

I, then, heard that very same, menacing chuckle, that scared me half to death.

My shaking came to an abrupt stop, out of erratic fear, and I tried to shield myself with my arms but I was stopped by the metal.

"Ah, look, she's scared Mike!"

"Shut up Eric, I can't enjoy this if you're yapping in my ear! Get me my blade."

I heard a clink of metal and my eyes shut. They laughed, I opened my eyes and lifted my head and glared at them, behind all of my fear.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

I remained silent, and he lifted his knife.

"If you don't tell me, I'll go ahead and make your pain a lot worse… now what's your name?"

"Marie…" wasn't a complete lie.

"Marie what?"

"Marie… uh… Crow?"

"Well, Marie Crow, I think I will very much enjoy your taste." He licked his lips and I let out a cry, I wanted Edward here.

"Ha, well, she _is_ scared boys. Do you think we should save some for Jake too?"

"The dog's a selfish mutt! We just fed him a couple days ago!"

What a way to talk about your fellow cannibal… but I don't care! I want to go home…

I wanted him to save me at the last minute, I wanted him to storm in and save my life… but that was only in the movies…

"Ah, I think we could give him the hands, those taste gross anyways. They have less meat, besides, we can hang her skin up when we're done."

I looked at them, disgusted, they cackled, voices rough from alcohol and cigarettes.

This _obviously _wasn't a movie, and I had to be strong.

The three men stepped forward and one of them pressed a knife into my leg.

I screamed as I saw my deep crimson blood seep onto the table, he licked up the access blood on the cold metal table with his tongue and smiled.

He lifted his head up and a drop of blood, _my _blood, slipped down his chin.

My leg was throbbing in pain and he held onto it, bringing his head closer and closer to my fresh wound.

I screamed.

--

Edward's point of view.

I tried to make it home, and every time I tried to take a step, my strength would fade faster, actual tears were falling freely from my face. I was about three miles from home, walking at a painfully slow speed but unable to walk faster.

I shook my head, my teary eyes strained and focused on a nearby park bench, memories of anger and Bella flooding into my head.

I sighed, shaking, my calloused hands clenching. I glanced down underneath the park bench and saw something that sure shocked the hell out of me.

**Short, I know, but I just had to end it there! **

**Will Bella die?! **

**I don't know, I'll let the public decide… that way I satisfy you! **

**Review please, it's no use writing this if you don't review. Tell me your favorite part, that kind of stuff, suggestions.**

**Btw, read my new one shot, its called dorky Bella and the sexy UPS Edward. Read and review it! **

**Chapter question- should Bella die? Epic I know…**

**REVIEW!!!**


	6. An unexpected hero

**Disclaimer- I don't own twilight**

**I need to give a big hug and a thank you to everyone who reviews and reads this story, I really love you all!**

**This is the iconic chapter in which the big answer is revealed! Im shooting for 4000 words but meh… you never know.**

**Gabby- I'm answering your review here, the plot needed the 'random twist' it was the only way I could do an original way to have Bella open up her guard, so deal.**

**Twilight Junkie- I promise the stories ending is something I have wrestled with forever and it will not disappoint.**

**Angel27eyes- it made me happy that my writing was more mature than my current age to you, I loved that compliment.**

**TwilightLover1217- your review was beyond hilarious, a puppy with Jakes head on it? I really want to put that in… **

**I feel really stupid right now, because some of you asked me what the importance of Bella's slippers were…**

**And I'm embarrassed to say that my initial approach was to have him find her by them, but I came up with a better idea.**

**So…**

**Can everyone just forget about the slippers please?**

***blushes at stupidity***

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

Edward's point of view.

I tried to make it home, and every time I tried to take a step, my strength would fade faster, actual tears were falling freely from my face. I was about three miles from home, walking at a painfully slow speed but unable to walk faster.

I shook my head, my teary eyes strained and focused on a nearby park bench, memories of anger and Bella flooding into my head.

I sighed, shaking, my calloused hands clenching. I glanced down underneath the park bench and saw something that sure shocked the hell out of me.

Current chapter

Bella's point of view-

I shut my eyes, he licked the exact spot where my blood was oozing out and I cringed, clenching my eyes when I feel that the gross, tingly feeling of his tongue had disappeared.

Expecting some sort of pain, I opened one eye, the other tightly shut.

I screamed at how close his face was, his chin covered in blood, and he smiled in a dark and twisted manner.

I whimpered as he inched closer, his eyes taunting me. With almost no strength, I breathed heavily as I lifted up my arm and propelled it towards his greasy face.

My arm was caught in an inescapable grip and I cried out as he twisted his hand around my elbow, my bone cracking.

He stepped back, to my immense relief, but was only placated for about a second. He used an over exaggerated move by placing his hand on his chin, furrowing his brow, and leaning on one leg.

He looked like a twisted, demented, and _stupid_ version of The Thinker…

It's like he's not only mocking me now, but Auguste Rodin too…

As if he had heard my completely inappropriate thought at the time, his dull blue eyes brightened for a half a second, he held up his finger, and he stood straight.

My hands struggled against the rough chains as pain from my elbow shot through me like a lightning bolt and my back arched in agony, biting my lip, trying not to give him any satisfaction by screaming.

He chuckled, "Look guys, she's in pain, but, she's a feisty one, go get Jacob and he'll have to rip her limb from limb to prove our point of who's in control."

He picked up a twig and snapped it, "Yepp, limb, " snap, "from," snap, "limb."

I shuddered as tears rolled down my cheeks, what had I done to deserve this…

He dropped the twigs on the ground and snapped his head back to his scary companions, "What did I say? Did I stutter? GO GET THE DOG!"

They sighed and left the room. I gulped, loudly, I was alone with him now… somehow… that was almost creepier than being with the other two as well…

He came up and licked my now dried up blood and crinkled his nose, "I waited too long for my drink, I'll have to make another helping for myself…"

My terror overcame me now as he brought the knife to my neck, he brought it back for his swing when the two others came in, I couldn't see well, but his knife dropped but an inch from my head and I was sobbing uncontrollably.

I heard the padding of feet come to the steel table.

The next this I know a dog was placed on top of me, a dog that was going to rip me limb from limb, a dog that was… giant, a dog that was too skinny for his massive size…

I peeked up at it through it's fur, when it growled my eyes shut tightly, expecting the pain to come soon.

A dog… a dog that… that growled and I screamed, waiting for the rips and sneers.

I opened my eyes wide enough to see him crouch on top of me, a lethal look on his face.

I was overjoyed and shocked to the extreme. Jacob, the dog, wasn't looking at _me_ like that… he was looking at his abusive owners. I smiled as much as I could through my screams of pain.

Jake pounced, as fast as an angry cheetah howling and biting furiously at his owners.

My hands still struggled but I stared at my hero in dog form in wonder.

The three wack jobs screamed and squealed, yeah, not so tough now, as Jake viciously bit and pulled them to the ground.

I could barely focus on any one thing as a massive amount of blood spattered on me, I started sobbing, this was terrifying. I shut my eyes and shook in the pile of blood.

After a while I didn't hear anything and I was able to crane myself up enough, through my chains to see a pile of blood on the floor, for once not _my_ blood, the blood was splattered every which way, and a mixture of three, dismembered lunatics lay, drenched in it.

My eyes were wide open in horror, shock, and joy as I looked back at Jake, who was watching me closely, as if ashamed.

My joy overtook my elbow pain for a moment and my eyes watered with happy tears.

The tears spilled over as they mixed with blood, forming see through and red dots on the steel of the table, I forced my eyes away.

Jacob's ashamed nature turned to an expression that… looked… smug and proud, looking at me.

"Well… I'll be damned…" I said through my shock and pain, my shaky voice letting out a disbelieving chuckle as I shook my head.

Even though my biggest problem, them, had disappeared, I couldn't get away due to the irritating mound of blood and chains on top of me. I looked at wonder dog.

I gulped as I smiled through my tears, "Well, can you get me out of this thing?"

This statement was clearly a rhetorical and sarcastic remark… anyone would know that… but I had forgotten what dog I was talking to, and, he ran…

Jake had disappeared through the door and I cried out, both from the pain in my elbow and the need to not be alone.

My shaky voice spoke again, "What am I going to do now…" I groaned as I looked for means of escape, finding none, I had a sense of déjà vu.

I sighed in frustration, closing my eyes, and when I opened my eyes again, looking into the smug eyes of my savior, the Siberian Husky.

My eyes scrunched together, wondering why he had gone, I looked down in his mouth and almost fainted from the astonishment of what I was going through…

I choked on my own breath as I saw a slobbery telephone hanging out of his mouth.

My joy was crushed when I figured that I couldn't MOVE. This frustration obviously frustrated me to no end.

I contemplated what to do with the phone when he dropped it on my lap and leapt off the table, still looking at me.

I sighed as I tried to adjust my hips to try to dissuade the phone from being idle. It moved about an inch, so I pushed all my weight onto one side.

Once I had it in the middle of my lap, I thrust my hips forward, trying to do an epic movie move and have it fly into my hand.

Unfortunately, life isn't like that… it flew to the other side of the room and I looked at wonder dog, challenging him to go get it.

He didn't disappoint, he flew after it like it was just a fun game of fetch. He tossed it into my lap again, this time closer to my hand. Unfortunately for me, it was now covered in blood and slobber, numbers almost unreadable.

My finger was about a centimeter from the antennae but I tried to move my hips closer to my hand, concentrating.

My hand was about a half a centimeter away and when I lifted my hips one more time, and the phone slipped into my palm.

I squealed at the sudden and unexpected success and my elbow banged onto the table. I screeched in pain, and tried to focus only on the phone now.

I took a breath of concentration, judging the best was to dial, one handed, I decided.

But… who should I call?

The first name that came to mind was, obviously, Edward. The thought made me smile, yet again, through my intense pain. But I was disappointed by the fact that I didn't have his number.

I mentally smacked myself and my guard, maybe he would have given it to me if I hadn't been such a, for lack of better word, bitch.

I tried to focus… I vaguely remember him giving me his emergency numbers… I also remember ignoring him… stupid…

_Flashback-_

"_Are you alright with living here, Bella."_

_Guard was up, "Yeah, I am."_

_He frowned, "Well, I'll be out of your way. But, I want you to have some numbers to call if you're ever in need of them."_

_I mentally rolled my eyes and nodded, he started talking and I nodded, hoping he thought I was listening._

_This is so stupid, I'll never use any of these… hell, I'll try to forget them!_

"_Do you need to right these down?"_

"_No, I have them."_

_He smiled, satisfied with my answer, "Good, and lastly, my cell phone number is 777-9999"_

_I did roll my eyes this time, and he left, his shoulders slumped. I turned back to my pride and joy and smiled._

_End flashback-_

I realized two things in that moment.

How much of a jerk I had been to Edward. And…

I remember his number, 777-9999

I wasted no time in dialing the number into the phone with my thumb, and pressing the speaker button.

The dial tone played, then it rang once, and my heart thudded, sweat forming on my brow.

The phone rang twice, my eyes pleaded, unnecessarily, with the phone.

The third ring sounded, and still no answer. I gave up and sobbed into my knees.

The forth ring never played, and my head popped up, a sniffle sounded, I bit my lip, and a very depressed, very hoarse from crying, and very remorseful and monotone voice of my angel spoke.

"H-Hello…" my heart thudded from his voice.

"Hello… who is this." His voice expressed irritation now.

I smiled grandly, "E-Edward! Help me, please!"

Alarm rung into his voice, and he screamed, "Bella?! Is that you!"

His voice held such disbelief and shock…

"Ye-yes, please, help me!"

"Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

"I-I'm sorry, I have no idea where I am."

"What are your surroundings?!" His voice taking on hope.

"Four white walls with blood spattered on them, and a cold, metal table with chains on my hands, I'm sorry…"

"Oh my God… I can't … " he sighed.

"Uh… I... I'll trace the call…"

"You c-can do that?!"

"Yeah, I can, now can you wait where you are?"

I managed to pull out some happy sarcasm, "Yeah, because I was planning on breaking these chains and flying to Reno… I'm sorry, just… help…"

My voice was beyond pathetic but he complied and hung up, I stared in astonishment to the phone, my new favorite dog, and then the chains.

The outcome of today? I never thought I would live… that's a plus…

My thoughts were interrupted by the said phone ringing. I looked at the i.d. and saw Edward's number.

My heart swelled and I immediately answered. "Hello? Edward?"

"Bella, you are about 20 minutes from home, and I'm on my way, I just called to say to not worry. I'm 15 minutes away."

"Thank you!"

The phone went dead. I waited…

I waited for about 5 minutes, phone clutched in hand, blood staining it, but not daring on my life to let go.

I sighed in desperation, not wanting to feel relief until my Edward was here… I started to hum a bug's bunny cartoon song that Nessie had been humming.

Oh… how I missed her, how I missed Edward…

What had I done, I hate my guard… but I'm not wearing it anymore, I promise you that.

About a minute later, I heard the click of a door and a jingling of keys.

"-" I was about to scream Edward's name when I was interrupted.

"Mike! Tyler! Eric! It's me, James and I'm home!"

I shuddered in horror, that was _not_ Edward's voice… he didn't have keys… and the footsteps were too heavy, my tears sprung a leak and my new found hope shattered.

"Mike!" I heard footsteps and I cringed, knowing being saved was, in fact, too good to be true…

I started crying, and I heard the footsteps become louder. I gulped and stilled my movements, my breath heavy.

The footsteps came to a stop and a growl emerged from the doorway. I peeked up to see a large man, shaking and seething in anger, glaring at the ground, where the gross, smelly bodies were located.

He next looked at me. "Damn! I should've known not to leave them alone, those _idiots_!" He was glaring at me and he sighed.

Then he smirked, "Oh well, I guess." He picked up Mike's knife and twisted it threateningly between his fingers. "that revenge is the best policy…"

"That's honesty you… bastard!" already knowing how much he didn't care.

The banging in my elbow had succumbed to a dull ache now.

He sighed, bored, "Well, the truth is, I don't really care, I'll kill you regardless."

I looked to Jake and he growled at the man, the man looked lethal as he slapped Jake across the room.

"Jake! No!"

He chuckled and Jake whimpered, pointing the bloody knife at me now. I gulped.

"Now, here's what's going to happen, you killed my students… so I'll kill you, but I am going to do it so painfully slow that you will _beg_ me for death."

"N-no! Edward's going t-to be here soon and… and he won't let you do this!"

He smirked and brought his knife down an inch. Not thinking Edward, whom he didn't know, would show up… I needed Edward and the knife was brought closer to my neck.

"E-Edward wont let you get… away… with." The knife was closer.

"You are _damn_ right I won't."

My heart skipped about five beats as Edward punched my attacker and grabbed the knife and crushed it into the man's chest, successfully bringing him to the ground. Edward's chest was heaving and I cried. Shaking, when I realized that Edward had saved my life a multitude of times now…

"E-Ed-Edward, you c-came!"

He kicked the dead body aside and looked at me, his chest rising and falling, I was… mesmerized.

He sighed and shook his head. He brought his thumb to stroke my cheek, my eyes closed and I felt my face nuzzle into his hands.

I felt my guard go up but I forced it down with so much force it would _never_ interfere again.

My big and watery eyes opened to see him, looking at how much comfort his touch brought me and he cocked his head to the side, clearly confused at my attitude.

Maybe… maybe the comforting hand was still there, and if it was, I was going to grab it.

I gently kissed his hand, "I'm sorry… I really am."

He stood there, gaping at me as I sighed in contentment. He looked at the chains on my hands and feet and brought the knife up, shaking his head and sighing. I cringed, not because I was scared he would hurt me, but because of that particular knife in general, I felt my eyes tear up.

He rubbed my cheek again, "Just close your eyes, and these will be gone, I won't hurt you."

Words had never been more true. I did trust him.

"okay…"

I closed my eyes tightly and I heard chains and metal clink together and I felt myself curl into a ball.

"It's over Bella, open your eyes."

I felt his arms curl around me and I tugged at him, as if he was the very air I needed to breathe.

I kept on crying, as the shock of what had happened settled in, and I felt a coat being zipped around me and him lifting me up, whispering soft and comforting words to me, as I hid myself in his chest.

"Wait!"

He stiffened, almost anticipating me to be angry, "W-what?"

I hugged him reassuringly and his posture relaxed, "Jake."

"Who?"

"We need him! He saved me… he killed them…"

He looked lethal… "Do you like Jacob Bella…"

"I love him, and I can't live without him now…"

He looked very angry and quite upset, I pointed to the cowering dog in the corner and he smiled brightly.

"I always wanted a dog anyways." I smiled into his chest and Edward tied his belt around Jake's neck, using it as a collar and a leash.

He walked back over to my limp form, apprehensive.

What have I done to him… I opened my arms and locked them around his neck as he cradled me in one arm and the leash and dog in the other.

We high tailed it out of there…

My cries turned into gentle sounds as he carried me into his car, I curled up against the seat, dried blood on my knee and my head, and the dull ache in my elbow while the rest of my body was at least warm.

He kept whispering reassuring words to me on our twenty minute drive home and when he went to open my door, I let him.

When he offered a hand to help me out, I grabbed it eagerly.

When I stumbled and he offered to carry me, I opened my arms, offering myself to him completely.

He smiled at me and I sniffled into his chest as he situated Jake on the couch, and focused on me.

"I wanna sleep…"

"You will, but what hurts. Answer that first."

"My head, my left elbow, and my right knee, everywhere else feels numb." I answered him the complete truth.

He set me down on the couch, "Where's Nessie?"

"'Nessie?'"

"Renesmee…"

I yawned and for the first time in about a month, I went to sleep without worry or problems.

--

I woke up, without knowing what time it was, and felt refreshed… and fresh… too fresh…

I looked down to see sweat pants, and a purple tank top, I felt my hair, it was damp and the back had a bandage on it.

I looked down to see a brace on my elbow and a bulky thing on my right knee.

I felt my guard go up, wanting to know what had happened when I had been asleep, but I forced it back down.

For the first time in years, I felt myself think freely, letting me think what was actually on my mind.

I made a relieved smile, my first in a long time. Thinking freely, this is what I thought.

I was ecstatic that he had been thoughtful enough to do these painful and messy things when I was asleep, I didn't even care that the guy had bathed me… he was a doctor, right? He clearly had experience with this stuff…

I felt so free.

A second later I realized that a strange sensation was tingling on my forehead, I reached up and pulled off a sticky note.

It read-

_Bella, _

_I'm sorry about doing these things without your knowledge, if you're angry with me, than_

_I profusely apologize… I don't mean to be on your bad side. Ever._

I had hurt him too greatly…

_No matter what time it is when you wake up, call for me, Renesmee is with Alice, I'm sorry for that too._

_Edward._

I bit my lip, I was more than afraid, not necessarily of Edward, but of the fact that he might be mad at me.

I was relieved though, I may have to gain his trust again, but at least I had a chance to, right? I took a small breath and choked out his name in a tiny voice.

I rolled my eyes at myself, he said he wouldn't hurt me, and I'm gonna have to trust him.

I took a deeper breath and spoke his name much louder, "Edward?"

I waited two seconds and when nothing happened, I gulped. "Edward! You there?" I nearly yelled, and cringed at how sharp my voice sounded.

When I stopped my incessant yelling I locked my eyes on my knees, crouching against them with my scared interior.

He wasn't coming, a tear escaped my eye and I sniffled.

"Hey," a soft voice cooed at me, "Don't cry, you're safe." My head snapped up, and gentle Edward was gone, probably judging my rash movement as anger.

He looked unsure, and stiff, like he was waiting for a blow.

"Edward." I spoke softly before opening up my arms, welcoming him to a hug.

He stared at my arms, I lowered both them and my head, why would he want to hug me…

The next second I felt my arms being lifted and locked around his my, my own head cradled in his neck, his arms wrapped tightly around me like a blanket.

I smiled against his chest, this is _exactly_ how I had envisioned this…

He sighed and stroked my hair, rocking me into his chest, wiping my fears away with only his touch.

After about a minute I reluctantly pulled away from him, he, used to my guard and my bi-polar behavior, stiffened.

Just to calm him, I kept my arms locked around him and he relaxed.

"Edward… I…"

"We can talk tomorrow, but tonight, you need rest." I smiled and I drifted to sleep that night, in the comfort of his arms.

Tomorrow we would talk and let it all out, and this time…

Screw the guard.

**Did you like it? love it? hate it? press the button and let me know.**

**Was it below your expectation level? I freaking hope not! I spent all night on this…**

**I actually had about seven different chapter sixes, and this was the one I chose.**

**They have a dog now! Most of you wanted it! so ya… the slippers meant nothing, last chapter's cliffy was worthless. Sorry!**

**I made me goal *smiles proudly***

**Answer this!**

**Chapter question- WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN? I'm a Gemini! What are you?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	7. Bella's infatuation and food?

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay guys, thank you for all of your lovely reviews, every single one made me smile, alright, let's get on with the review comments.**

**Angel27eyes- thanks, I almost took the a-n's out because I was told they were annoying, but now I'm glad I didn't. you have good taste in movies too.**

**Gabby- yeah, I didn't want them to be all re united at once, in my first draft they were all happy and laughing all together but when I re read it it felt like someone with WAY too much fluff wrote it. I am also not a fan of Jacob/Bella.**

**Twilightluva786- I had to read your review a couple of times to understand your half fish comment but I laughed when I got it. total blonde moment on my part… Capricorn and half fish!**

**Azu- I'm really happy you got the feelings of anger and fear that I wanted when James showed up! I read your review tons of times… I feel like if Edward had been the one to save her, it would have been too normal, you find that in A LOT of stories but not in mine! Lol go geminis!**

**Alynelovesyou- aww I love ya too!**

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Last chapter-

After about a minute I reluctantly pulled away from him, he, used to my guard and my bi-polar behavior, stiffened.

Just to calm him, I kept my arms locked around him and he relaxed.

"Edward… I…"

"We can talk tomorrow, but tonight, you need rest." I smiled and I drifted to sleep that night, in the comfort of his arms.

Tomorrow we would talk and let it all out, and this time…

Screw the guard.

THIS chapter-

I woke up the next morning in the intense comfort of a bed, I stretched out, with my eyes closed, reveling in the fact that I wasn't freezing cold.

I felt something next to me radiating heat. I reached my hand over, expecting Edward to be there and going to hold myself close to him. Why would Edward be in my bed? I didn't know why but I was happy. I reached over.

I felt an enormous grin spread across my face as my hand slid across the silky covers of the bed, my eyes still closed, enjoying the sensation of sleep on my eyes.

My hand slid a little further and confusion spread across my face as I felt my hand slide off of the bed, I wondered where this unexpected heat came from and I hadn't realized my body was still moving.

My eyebrows came together and my eyes shot open when my hands started flailing about and my body crashed to the floor with a loud thud.

I screamed when my head hit an incredibly dense surface and I realized that, I, indeed, was the only one in my bed.

My head started banging and I looked back, wincing, to see what had made such an impression on my head, and almost kicked myself for realizing it was a heater, right next to my bed, in which I fell upon.

Disappointment racked through me, I had felt horrible for what I had done… but I wanted to be near him, I… I was stupid for treating someone I lo-_liked_ in that way…

"Stupid…" I muttered to myself, but the slow motion of my mouth had caused me more pain and I screamed again.

I wish I hadn't done that… pssh, yes, Bella, because that's why they have EYES.

Speaking of which, I rolled my eyes and more pain shot through my head, I whimpered loudly and clutched my head.

I heard feet clattering on the floor.

My head shot up to meet Edward's shocked eyes, he shook his head and muttered something.

His eyes were clouded with sleep and he only had on a pair of boxers but I tried with all of my heart to NOT focus on the way they looked on him… too late.

They were red and they hugged his body perfectly… I pushed those thoughts away and, sadly, tried to focus on the pain.

I looked up at him, sheepish and pleading, for him to help me, tears in my eyes and staining my cheeks.

He sighed and chuckled, yeah, nice huh? He reached out for me, quirking is eyebrow, asking for permission to pick me up.

I felt like a child as I nodded and sniffled, opening my arms wide and jutting out my bottom lip.

He bent down on his knees and scooped me up into his gentle yet strong embrace.

I clutched onto his chest as he carried me to the kitchen. I sniffled and winced as he set me, although gently, onto a bar stool.

He made sure I was stable and spun me around a little and stood behind me and spoke quietly, almost to himself while he smoothed away my hair as I tried not to wince.

"Let's see now…" I felt a little bit of pain as he tugged my hair but I knew better than to push him away.

I released a breath of air I hadn't realized I was holding as he backed away whilst spinning me towards him.

"Well… you don't have any cuts or scrapes, bruises will show up though." He spoke into the freezer while taking out something cold. I was shamelessly staring at his ass, but, honey, if you had ever seen one like his, you'd be doing more than staring.

He walked back over to me and I saw that he had taken out a bag of frozen peas, once he got to me he cautioned me with his eyes.

"Bella, you need to be patient, this is going to sting." He held onto the back of my neck reassuringly as he placed the frozen food onto the bump on my head.

I held onto his arms and when the pain of the cold subsided, I opened my eyes to see his eyes riddled with concern, his hand not moving an inch from my head.

I took a deep breath and smiled weakly, "Thanks." He chuckled and helped me off of the stool as I held onto the peas, trying to make it hurt less.

I winced as my knee almost made contact with the floor but he caught me.

"I still can't believe that you haven't been home 10 hours and you managed to hurt yourself…"

Home… I smiled. He walked away for a couple minutes and I saw him come back in jeans and a tee shirt, I huffed for lack of view.

"Bella?" my eyes darted up to his and I came out of my reverie. We stood there for a moment as yesterday's events came back to me, "We- we should talk now…"

My eyes averted from his and we stood in awkward silence for about a minute, he spoke.

"Yes, we should, but I want to get something straight first."

I bit my lip, but nodded, completely open to whatever he wanted.

"I don't want you to leave anything out, I need you to trust me. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, I definitely will… but… I'm afraid that…"

His finger gently lifted up my chin and I met his eyes, "There isn't anything to be afraid of Bella, I need you to trust me. You know that."

I nodded and gulped, leading the way to the living room, I heard his foot steps behind me.

I sat down on the couch and he sat down opposite of me. His caring eyes coaxed me to start talking and I took a deep breath and thought of where to start.

"W-where should I start…"

"Well, I'm going from the assumption that you left out some important things the first time we talked. Why don't you start… from your beginning."

"It's long and boring." I joked. His eyes turned serious and I quickly apologized.

"Sorry. But, this is a little hard for me… I've never told anyone anything about my past before…"

"Bella, that's why you need to trust me, you _can_ trust me, you should know that by now. It's only," he looked at his watch, "10:34, Bella," his eyes turned soft and my interior turned to goo, "We have all day, there isn't any hurry, and I want you to take your time in telling me everything. You can confide in me."

E.P.O.V.

I watched her carefully, I had told her to take her time, and I had meant it. I didn't have anything to do today, and I genuinely wanted this… this conversation barrier to be over. I watched her small and frail hand gently wipe a stray hair from her delicate face.

She gulped and nodded, taking a deep breath. Her chocolate brown hair slid into her heart shaped face as she struggled to form her first sentence. She shifted in her chair as her eyes turned glossy for a moment, searching for something to say.

She looked to me, almost pleading with me to start for her, and I decided that this wasn't working.

"This isn't working."

Bella's tiny form slumped back into her chair, defeat claiming her soft features. I smiled at her.

"That's not what I meant Bella, you're doing great and I'd rather you take your time with an answer opposed to making up a quick one. I meant that you might find this a little bit easier if we lighten this up a bit."

Her smooth forehead crinkled, "How can we make this easier?"

I could feel her discomfort from a mile away and I would do anything to relieve it.

I didn't actually have a plan, but when I glanced at the kitchen and I got an idea that might take some of the attention off of her, putting her in her element a little bit.

"How about… we cook? No, bake, you can talk while we bake, maybe it will help."

She looked overjoyed at the thought of it, I thought with pride. I didn't know her that well, but she always took second glances at my rather upscale kitchen so I guessed.

She stood up and basically skipped to the kitchen. I watched her with amusement as she tied up her hair in a pony tail and rubbed her hands together.

"What should we bake." Her liquid brown eyes sparkled as she looked around, biting her lip.

She never got an answer before she threw open the refrigerator and made noises to herself as she grabbed at things and took them out. She whizzed around the kitchen for about five minutes before the whole, huge kitchen looked like it was ready for a deluxe episode of the Iron Chef.

I chuckled and she smiled at me, I was going to let her take the lead, "What are we making, boss?"

She made a little smile, "Well, I have… quite a long story, I think we should busy ourselves… all day while I talk. We, Edward, are making homemade apple pie, chocolate popcorn balls, caramel snicker doodles, massive sized and malty chocolate chips, and cinnamon doughnuts. Nothing store-bought."

I stared at her in amusement and shock, "That sounds delicious, I can't wait, what should I start on?"

She looked around. "Well, we should start with the pie because it has to set, can you peel the apples?"

I nodded and walked to my set up 'station of work'. I saw Bella working out the crinkles in the pie crust.

Bella's voice set a rhythm to when I peeled.

"My name, is Isabella Marie Swan and I'm 19 years old."

I nodded and smiled encouragingly to her, almost rolling my eyes at how her parents had pegged her name.

I heard her quiet sigh as the sweet smell of cinnamon filled the room and I looked up to see the pie crust covered in it and I smiled, she rolled it out again when I peeled the last apple.

"Put some sugar on the apples and pour them in here." She handed me the bottom pie crust and I filled it with sugary apples, she worked on the top crust.

"My mother is Renee Swan, and my father is Charlie Swan. Umm… I remember we used to go all out on Christmas, we got a ten foot tree… and my dad was such a dork." She laughed, thinking about it, and handing me the crust with I assembled and preheated the oven and placed the pie inside of it.

This, technically wasn't what I had meant by talking, and she knew that, but who was I to stop her?

She pointed to the cookie sheet, "chocolate chips, I want them each three inches wide and long." She started to put together the mix and handed it to me to mix. She moved to help me.

"He used to always make a big deal about putting a different angel on the tree every year, and put me in a Santa hat while he taped my attempts to put on the tree without falling, I always did, but he always caught me. I've done that since I was about two years old."

I put a blob of malt chocolate onto the sheet and she worked on shaping it into a giant Hershey's kiss.

"As you might have guessed, I love baking, and my mom and I loved doing it at night, singing Barry White songs too high pitched at midnight, falling asleep before we could finish the job and waking up with flour covered kitchens and faces."

She giggled as she thought of something else but didn't say it, this, what she was saying wasn't what she was supposed to be saying, but I would never interrupt her being happy.

"umm… I…" she sighed and her malt covered hands froze.

"Take your time, Bella."

"Thanks… um… I had gotten a red truck from my dad just before I ran away, and I was taking drivers ed. I remember my mom when I got my high school diploma… and-"

"Wait? High school diploma? You left at 15?"

"I may have a child, but I'm not stupid, I graduated at 15 and was enjoying the summer before my first year at Yale, on scholarship."

"Wow, that's amazing, Bella."

"Yeah… if I actually ever got to Yale… but I won't harp on it, if I went to Yale… I wouldn't have Renesmee and I wouldn't know you. I couldn't give that up."

I smiled. The bowl of malt was now empty and Bella was only half way don't shaping the kisses so I took the second sheet and shaped them.

"Okay… um… I remember I used to spend all of my money on snickers bars and Snapple and put the snickers in the freezer. My mom and dad and I used to go and deliver home cooked meals to all of the elderly people in the community, and I… I had the strangest experience with one of our favorites."

Her forehead creased again, "Her name was Harriet Shilling. She pulled me aside almost every day, and told me, in these exact words, "Never keep your emotions in; if you do, then you won't have what you want." I never understood what she meant, until now…." Bella blushed and shook it off.

I wanted to know what she was thinking of but I didn't want to interrupt.

"Um… I remember my best friend Angela and how she used to sneak into my window on Saturday nights with a movie and Ben and Jerry's to keep me company, see, my mom and dad took couples ballroom on Saturday's and I didn't like being alone. I never understood that because I got my bad coordination from my dad… but I never complained…"

A strand of her hair fell into her face and she blew it off.

She pushed both trays of massive malt into one of the four pairs of double ovens and checked on the pie. The crust wasn't crisp yet so she put it back in.

She rubbed her hands together. "Okay, can you work on the snicker doodle mix while I work on the caramel topping?" I nodded and started.

"Okay… um…my favorite color is midnight blue and um… about my story, you can guess that I didn't tell you the whole thing…"

"That's the assumption I was going on, yes."

"I didn't leave out much, but as you know, I got a raise, called my mom, and, I really don't care to elaborate on the rest."

I nodded. "So I got the raise, my boss, Mike, got a phone call. I guess he sounded kind of distressed, telling whoever he was conversing with to 'get the job done and not to mess it up!' I didn't pay much attention to it and quickly called my mom."

I felt like my mind wanted to tell her to stop but I had no idea why, I brushed it off.

She paused, "She didn't actually _say_ she was jogging, but it was implied, she jogged every day and I walked home about half the time so I was pretty happy. You know the rest."

Something she had said struck me as odd but I didn't know what, like my brain was satisfied with her answers but I was unsettled by something as well.

She seemed to notice and turned to face me with concern in her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Uh… nothing I guess…"

"Um… alright." She took the caramel cookies and put them in the oven as well, taking out the hot pie to cool.

"Get the dough and roll it in cinnamon and shape it in doughnuts as I work on the chocolate popcorn balls."

I nodded and we set to work, "I guess I don't really have much else to say… I told you everything I know… well, not _everything_ but you get the just of it."

"I never would have guessed you had finished high school, your life is nothing like I thought."

She smiled over her popcorn and melted chocolate, "Thanks? I guess?" she laughed, "So, I've talked, now it's your turn buddy."

I smiled, "Okay, well, my name is Edward Anthony Cullen." I smiled at her, I was mocking her and she laughed.

"My parents are Carlisle and Esme Cullen and my siblings are Alice and Emmett Cullen."

"I can cook a little bit, about seven dishes all together."

She put the popcorn on the counter to set and the doughnuts in the ovens, taking out the cookies and the kisses, drizzling on caramel.

I licked my lips, because a half an hour later all of the food was on display, at our disposal.

We each ate a delicious piece of pie, only half of it ended up being left.

We managed to finish one tray of giant malt kisses and one tray of cookies. And one tray of doughnuts.

And there were 24 popcorn balls left.

Altogether, we had half of an apple pie, one tray of giant chocolate kisses, one tray of caramel snicker doodle cookies, one tray of cinnamon doughnuts and 24 popcorn balls.

I was laying across the couch and Bella was half on the floor and half sprawled on top of me.

We stared at the food in awe. "Edward! How come we made so much food!"

"I know, what are we going to do."

Bella's head popped up, "I HAVE AN IDEA!!"

I chuckled, "What?"

"Give me your phone."

"Why-"

"Just hand it over."

I was confused but gave it to her anyways. She managed to get up and two minutes later she gave me my phone back and resumed her position.

About five minutes later a loud entrance occurred and my head snapped over to the door.

Emmett stood there, his tongue hanging out, staring at the food.

"HEAVEN! I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST!"

We burst out in hysterical messes of laughter as he finished off our food, I turned to Bella, "The crazy thing? He lives about 40 minutes away…"

Emmett's eyes rolled back as he stuffed everything into his mouth, "Mmm, sooo GOOOD!!!"

We watched him consume everything we had left in a total of five minutes, I hadn't ever seen someone eat so much. Ever.

He collapsed on the floor right next to us, a big, lazy grin spread across his face. I looked to Bella, to find her in the same position, the next second Emmett's phone rang.

"Helllllllllllllllo?"

"Oh! Shit! I'm sorry… I can explain… NO I'M NOT CHEATING! Rosie just…. Hello?"

He was immediately alert, "Um… thanks for the food, but… I have to go."

He raced out of the house and we started laughing, all of that happened in about five minutes.

I looked, yet again, to Bella and she was staring at me. I was dreading what was coming next and from the scared and glossy look on her face and in her wide doe eyes, she knew what was coming too.

I was truly sympathetic that she had to tell her newest story so soon. I tried to look for anything to make her more comfortable.

I found nothing.

"Bella," I said, while motioning her to sit next to me, "Can you tell me now?"

We both knew we had been avoiding the most important subject that day, but it had to be said.

She gulped. She was staring at my chest and fidgeting, I looked down to see if I had any food on me, but found nothing, and looked up at her in confusion.

"Yeah, I can…"

She wrapped her arms around herself, still glancing at my chest and I finally understood, if I had been in Bella's position, I wouldn't want to feel that alone either.

I smiled encouragingly at her and opened my arms, almost afraid of her acceptance and what it would mean but my worries went away as she crawled into my lap, her head on my chest and clinging to my arms as I laid us down.

She took a deep breath and I felt it on my arms, I gave her a reassuring hug and she began.

"well… I guess I should start from before I left." I felt her blushing even without looking at her.

"Yeah, again, I'm sorry about what happened, it was late and Nessie probably…"

"No, you're wrong, it wasn't just because it was late, anyone can see that that's what she is in your eyes and that's what you are in hers. I guess… I didn't even think about it, I just ran."

I thought about what she said for a moment, "You know, she wasn't trying to exclude you Bella, she wasn't replacing you. That couldn't ever happen."

She thought about my reply for another moment. "In my mind, at the time, that's what happened."

"It didn't though, she wasn't replacing you, she was making an addition."

She sighed, "Somewhere in the back on my mind, I knew that, but you have to know Edward… if we're leaving. And she has that much of an attachment to you?"

I was very near astonished… did she think she was leaving?

"You're nuts if you think I'm letting you leave, Bella."

A minute later I felt something warm and wet touch my arm, I looked to Bella and saw that she had let a tear escape.

"R-Really?"

I rolled my eyes, although she couldn't see, "Yes, really. Now, I just need you to know that Nessie wasn't pushing you away."

"I see that now, and I'm sorry."

I chuckled, if you compared _this_ Bella to the _before_ Bella… what a difference, I liked this one better.

"It's alright, but Renesmee's smart, she knows why you left and she feels terrible. I think you should tell her that."

She sighed and, unknowingly, her grip on my arm tightened.

"I guess we should move on now huh?"

"Yes."

"Alright… um… I remember leaving, having almost no thoughts in my head. I remember adrenaline running through me, like what I was living for, was gone, and it was my fault."

She sighed, "I didn't realize the consequences of what was happening. My mind was all over the place. I kept having these… these, absolutely absurd thoughts of how you guys were happy that I was gone."

"it was like my old life, sleeping under park benches, but… but this was worse."

"I can't describe what I was feeling. Every time… every time I saw someone, they resembled you in some way, once I even ran up to someone."

I was both touched and horrified at that thought.

"I was so cold, but also numb, I couldn't feel anything… I was hungry… I missed Renesmee of course… but, I didn't expect to miss you, and that shocked me. don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed your hospitality, but in vain. At the time, I didn't care… about you…. Only Renesmee."

Whoa, thanks Bella… that makes me feel good…

"But when I left, I felt something more, like… my heart _grew_ for you almost, missing Nessie… and you."

I felt myself smile, and my heart thud erratically but I made a motion for her to continue.

"I remember everything I took advantage of, and I ignored you when you tried to tell me the phone numbers."

She did ignore me… I knew it.

"I remember thinking about you… and Nessie… for about three days, until I started walking. I walked past a fluffy pink shop and I stared at the heater. I remember a black haired little girl inside of it and-"

"Oh my gosh, Bella, was this store covered in pink?"

"Yeah, it looked like cotton candy exploded, why?"

"You should've gone inside, that was Alice."

"Really? I remember _wanting_ to go inside, and feeling a weird connection towards her, but I had been delusional those days, I blew it off."

I sighed, "Sorry, go on."

"O-Okay. I walked faster, wanting to get away from feeling anything, only regret. I passed alleyways, and street corners, my horrible memories coming back to me. I even went inside of one. Thinking I deserved to have it happen again until I learned my lesson."

I shuddered and she sobbed, I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, wanting to let her know she'll never be alone again.

"Um…" she sniffed and breathed, "I remember seeing something at the end of the alley… a big box. But not cardboard, it looked like metal. It was distracting, from the cold, from missing you and Nessie, from everything I felt. I walked towards it."

"When I got to it, I found that it was a heater, and that definitely distracted me. I liked the heat, I wanted more of it, again ungrateful, but then…"

She prepared herself with a big breath.

"Then… I heard something… barely noticeable in my mind, but it came again… it was a laugh, one of those you never expect to hear, the ones you hear in the horror movies, the one… the one you get before you die."

I held her closer, "I didn't want to turn around… but mind didn't listen, I wanted to run, but I was too numb."

She took a deep breath, "I turned around, and saw… three… monsters, that… that _evil_ laugh rang in my ears again, and I knew I was in deep. You saw them, it was horrible, and…. If I would have ignored you just one second longer that day you told me the numbers, I'd be dead."

She hid her face in my chest as she tried to tell more of her story. I couldn't hear any of it, her choking sobs too loud.

I felt helpless, all I could do was sit there, and try to placate her, she didn't deserve this.

I was crying right along with her, she deserved more… more than… cannibals… more than homelessness, more than everything she had.

I mean, the girl get's raped at 15, has a child, then, four years later, has a run in with four cannibals…

Her tiny hands clung to my chest as her body curled into a ball around me. Her face was hidden under my chin, and I smoothed out her hair. Her sobs came in small chokes now.

I didn't know how long it had been, but this time, she didn't run away from my arms. Her tiny head peeked up from my chin, "I-I'm sorry…"

"Bella, don't be sorry… what happened needed to happen."

She looked into my eyes, looking for something. Once she was satisfied that she found what she wanted she looked around.

"Is Jacob at Alice's too?"

I sighed, "Yeah… I'm selfish…"

She giggled, "It's alright, but I think we should go get them, I'm glad that it was just you at first though."

I smiled and helped her off of the couch, and I followed her.

I looked at her, she wasn't that far from me and yet she didn't back away, instead, she hugged me, "Thank you."

I was utterly shocked at her today, I expected her to yell at me for cleaning her and everything, but she sounded grateful, I sighed against her hair and wiped her tears away.

"Okay, do you want to come with me?"

She rolled her eyes, "yeah I would." I could tell she was holding back sarcasm and I chuckled.

I grabbed her a coat and helped her to the car, she limped on her knee and I helped her into the car, she blushed when I did her seat belt. She was muttering something unintelligible.

I shook my head at her openness today and made my way to the driver's side.

I drove to Alice's and we sat in comfortable silence.

Bella broke it, "Is she mad at me?"

I was puzzled, "No… why?"

"nothing…" but she was still otherwise distracted.

I brushed it off when we parked in front of her condo.

I helped Bella out of the car again and led her to the door. I knocked and I heard Jacob's bark and Nessie gasp.

"coming!" Alice screamed.

Bella fidgeted on my arm. Alice swung the door open, "hey Edward!" she didn't notice Bella until she came out form my arm.

"H-Hey… Bella.." Alice truly looked nervous. This was new.

Then, to the intense astonishment to I think all three of us, she limped to Alice and hugged her.

Alice went rigid but then softened, a wide grin plastered on her face as she hugged her back.

"Thanks Bella."

"Thank _you_ Alice, I owe you… a lot."

"Nonsense! You owe me nothing!" Alice giggled as she nodded her head to the kitchen to me and she helped Bella to a chair.

Bella's worry seemed to be cured now.

"MAMMA!" a loud scream sounded from Alice's living room and Bella's eyes started to water as a little girl ran up to her and pounced into Bella's arms.

"Oh, baby I missed you too!"

"I'm sorry Mamma-" Bella hugged her, looked towards me, and sighed.

Bella sighed and smiled, "Why are you still talking to me if your dad is waiting for you at the door?"

Bella smiled again and my jaw hit the floor as Nessie turned to me and ran.

I looked at Bella in astonishment, "Daddy! I missed you."

I was still staring, shocked, at Bella and she winked at me, petting Jacob.

I held Nessie in my arms, feeling amazing at the moment. Bella leaned on Jacob as she walked over to me, I chuckled, we looked like we were taking a family picture.

"To make this moment even better, I made cookies!"

Bella and I looked at each other, wide eyed.

**Haha, I liked it, did you???**

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	8. A Clueless Edward and A Freaky Garage

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Dotdotdot- your review made me laugh, I know it was a flame. Point 1- if someone you don't know introduces themselves to you when your daughter is dying, do you think they would remember their name? point 2- I happen to know that 4 weeks isnt enough for a pregnancy to show, but im not going to say she was raped then waited three months, that would off set my plot so have some imagination. Point 3- taking notes on something my story isn't going to elaborate much more on would kind of be pointless huh? By the way, I do know stuff, im not stupid, my sister just gave birth 3 months ago. If you don't like the story than it isn't for you.**

**Flora73- always one to make me smile! You gave me amazing compliments! (as she ever so kindly always does.)**

**Bellalullabye09- haha I was in a sugar mood too! she also shares my favorite starbucks drink! Caramel macchiato! Yay her!**

**I didn't have one vote for Mondays so this is what you have. You lucky Twerds!**

**Where did I even come up with this intro…**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

"MAMMA!" a loud scream sounded from Alice's living room and Bella's eyes started to water as a little girl ran up to her and pounced into Bella's arms.

"Oh, baby I missed you too!"

"I'm sorry Mamma-" Bella hugged her, looked towards me, and sighed.

Bella sighed and smiled, "Why are you still talking to me if your dad is waiting for you at the door?"

Bella smiled again and my jaw hit the floor as Nessie turned to me and ran.

I looked at Bella in astonishment, "Daddy! I missed you."

I was still staring, shocked, at Bella and she winked at me, petting Jacob.

I held Nessie in my arms, feeling amazing at the moment. Bella leaned on Jacob as she walked over to me, I chuckled, we looked like we were taking a family picture.

"To make this moment even better, I made cookies!"

Bella and I looked at each other, wide eyed.

B.P.O.V.

We were talking with Alice and Jasper, he was actually a really cool guy. Alice was telling us how they met in high school.

"Okay, so, we're doing this experiment with matter, right?" Jasper was beat red and he was fidgeting; he looked extremely uncomfortable with where this conversation was headed..

"And, apparently, there was a bet going on around the school that Jasper liked me, so of _course _I take a seat next to him in science class. Our boring ass teacher, Mr. Clapp was using quarters as subjects. So half way through class I look over to see quarters glued to the middle of our table and I said-

"Who glued these quarters down?" and he said, "I did." And I said "What the hell for, man?" and he said "I don't really feel like I need to explain myself to you, Alice." The next thing I know we talked and he asked me out… it's weird," he squeezed Jasper's hand looked adoringly into his eyes, "But it's us."

We kept talking and Alice felt bad about not saving me, even though I was technically outside of her store.

We both quickly assured her that it wasn't anyone's fault and I would have been far too abrasive to _be _helped anyways.

We also ended up eating the cookies she had made and were over all full. I didn't know why, but my eyes kept drifting to Edward's lips as he chewed each cookie… slowly… STOP Bella! This was getting a little weird and unfamiliar. It's like, as soon as I was near him, I kept noticing all of the little things about him… and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like them.

Over the past twenty-four hours, I had experienced a lot, I really needed to be around my daughter and her father. I had warmed up quite well to the fact that he was now her 'father'.

Nessie fell asleep in her… father's arms that night and we waved Alice and her boyfriend Jasper good bye before putting Nessie and Jacob in the back and taking a leisurely drive home.

I looked to Edward, his lip was nestled between his teeth and his forehead creased with worry. I frowned, and as much as I wanted to stop his worry, something strange shot through me, I gripped my stomach, thinking that the problem was a just all the food I ate today, but when I looked at Edward again, the same tingly feeling came through me. I was confused to say the least but shrugged it off.

I looked back at Jacob and Nessie and sighed.

I whispered, "Edward, they're so cute." He smiled at me and glanced back through his mirrors.

Jacob was laying across the backseat, Nessie settled on his stomach.

"Yeah…" he kept taking second glances at me and sighing, I grew confused, he obviously had something on his mind.

"Edward? Are you okay?" I looked back towards him and that feeling came to me again.

"Um… yeah, but after we put Nessie to sleep… I need to talk to you about something, and I need you to be open minded."

He looked flustered and I smiled, he looked so cute like this… I gasped. What did I mean 'cute'?! Ever since I got back yesterday, I had tried to think of Edward only as a brother… but it never worked.

… come to think of it, I had been shocked when I felt this way about him during my… time away… but now it made sense.

Edward was amazing, his personality, his looks, he had it all, and no matter how hard I tried to only think of him as a brother, other… thoughts kept flooding into my mind.

I had seriously worked on staying away from my guard, I had to trust him, I wouldn't want to die again, right?

I frowned, liking someone hadn't ever happened to me… is that what was even happening? Weren't your parents supposed to tell you about that stuff… I closed my eyes and tried to remember if that ever happened for me.

_Flashback-_

_We had just finished our family game night and were all laughing from the fact that we never finished them…_

_I looked around to see popcorn spread all over the floor. I got up to try to clean it._

"_Honey, before we try to clean all of this up, your father and I have been talking." I rolled my eyes at them, they both looked so uncomfortable so I sat down._

_My mom squeezed my dad's hand and I got worried. "Uh, mom, did you have something to say?"_

"_Um… yeah, honey, well, as you know, you turned 13 last month and… you might start to be interested in boys…"_

"_Uh… mom please! Can this be over!" My eyes were wide and I high tailed it out of there._

_End flashback-_

So they had tried to tell me… wow, another shot at my ignorance. I was confused… I wish I had listened. I groaned and Edward shot me a weird look, I got that feeling again and shrugged.

I dread having that conversation with Nessie…

Not all of my thoughts were appropriate. The thought of him in those boxers this morning kept pushing its way into my mind, I sighed.

I _felt _like I had everything, I had the perfect daughter, the perfect dog, and that said daughter had the perfect father.

The only problem with my perfect fantasy? That very same perfect father didn't think of me the same way I did him.

I laughed out loud. Father and mother, completely unattached.

Edward turned to question me of my recent outburst but I poorly covered it up as a cough and shrugged. He rolled his eyes at me and I let out a deep breath.

E.P.O.V.

I gulped… yes, I was nervous to tell her, but she _said _she would have an open mind… I mean, she wouldn't push the idea of my question away all the way, right?

My hands grew clammy on the driver's wheel as we pulled away from Alice's drive. I kept looking at Bella, she seemed to have something on her mind too… maybe she was thinking about the same thing I was…

She couldn't push away the opportunity could she? I mean… I could afford anything that was needed…

Maybe she would push it away, I sighed and looked at her again.

"Aww, they're so cute Edward…" Bella spoke in a hushed tone and I glanced back and smiled at her, they did look adorable….

I sighed and looked at Bella again… would she reject the idea?

"Edward are you okay?"

"Um… yeah, but after we put Nessie to sleep… I need to talk to you about something, and I need you to be open minded."

She nodded, confused. Then she smiled, and then seemed kind of shocked at something.

She would be open minded, but that didn't completely calm my thoughts. I kept thinking about how this decision Bella made, would be imperative to her future…

A moment later Bella laughed, I looked at her in confusion and after failing with covering it up as a cough, she shrugged. I didn't have time to question her as we pulled into the house.

I took a deep breath, "Bella, stay here, okay?"

She nodded, confused but she didn't question me. I loved that. I had finally managed to earn Bella's trust and I intended on keeping it with all of my heart.

I led Nessie and Jacob into the house and hurried back to the car to help Bella. When I got there I found her curled against herself, looking around, biting her lip. I frowned, I had caused her worry.

I quickly opened her door and she let out a deep breath. I held out my arm out for her and held onto it without hesitation, letting me take control. I smiled.

I helped her inside and we saw Jacob in front of Nessie's tired form, we carried her up and Jacob followed us, jumping on the foot of the bed like he belonged there. We watched as they fell asleep and I led Bella to the living room.

I hope she thought the idea was as good as I did… this question could change her life…

B.P.O.V.

He led me to the living room as my heart began to beat faster. Had I done something wrong? Had he caught my… staring?

He sat me down on the couch and took a deep breath.

"As you know Bella, Renesmee's life is awesome with you as a mother, but, I think that it could be more balanced."

Okay? I didn't know where he was going with this… at least it wasn't about my staring.

"Okay, how so?"

My mind was open, "Bella, I haven't known you and Nessie for that long and I think that this would be best."

"Bella, I'm proposing; I think we should-"

My eyes popped out of my head… was he serious, "What?!"

"Listen, Bella, I'm proposing that maybe… we should take Renesmee to school next year."

Strangely, instead of relief, I felt disappointment… I didn't know why though. Although the idea of Renesmee going to school was certainly ideal, I could barely control my disappointment, kind of stupid, huh?

"Oh, why would you be nervous about that, Edward? I think that is a fantastic idea." Disappointment rang through my words and both of us noticed.

"Bella? Are you alright, you don't sound that excited…"

I gave him a half smile, marriage… how could he ever want to marry me… how could I have even contorted his words into the weird prospect of… marriage…

I'm so stupid. I sighed and leaned back, the chance that he could feel the same were not only slim to none, they were none to none.

He still looked confused, his eyes darted up, like he was checking over his words as if he had offended me.

I wanted to interrupt his thinking before he knew that I thought he was proposing to me.

"Edward, I am overjoyed that Renesmee gets to have the life I wanted for her now," I took his hand and gave it a squeeze, ignoring the tingles it gave me, "Thank you, so much."

I dropped his hand and he kept staring at it, I cleared my throat and slumped back onto the couch and sighed.

Edward copied my movements. "Okay, Bella, let's agree that if we have any problems with something that's happening we will tell each other. No more secrets, agreed?"

I smiled, "Agreed. I'm personally ecstatic that all of that is over, everything seems so much easier."

He laughed, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure your life has exceeded it's healthy amount of drama."

I let out a breath, "Well, I certainly hope so!" I joked along with him. It was funny, despite how much we had gone through today, I wasn't tired. I sat into a more relaxed position on the couch.

I looked outside for a minute and it was pitch black. The color in my mind, registered for me to glance at my arms. I wasn't cold and for that I was thankful.

I smiled against the cushion on the couch and started making patterns on the ceiling, I sighed. My distraction didn't last for long. Soon I was thinking of Renesmee, and that made me happy.

It was more than I had ever dreamed, for Renesmee to get a good education. Don't get me wrong, she is an amazingly smart girl, and for that I was also thankful. Edward… he had completed our life, I heard a gentle snore and looked over to find Edward fast asleep.

I sighed. I had thought that I was better off with Nessie on the streets, but… here… felt… almost like home.

It was a big change, but this was a better life for us. I wonder what Edward was getting out of this, that thought me guilty.

I was shocked at that, and, I guess, that was part of the reason I had run away, I knew that I was already attached and I got scared. I'm not scared anymore though. I have no reason to be, my drama for life is over and now I can be… a little bit happy.

My smile faded, I guess having Edward as a friend was better than not knowing him at all. I felt a strange tug at my heart when I was gone on those horrible days… it overpowered me… it sure as hell threw my guard away…

I looked to Edward again, he looked so peaceful asleep, I got reassurance from him. Hell, even when he didn't talk, he comforted me.

My forehead started sweating and I wiped it off. My eyebrows scrunched together. It was winter, when we got back to the house, it was 75 degrees. It had to be at least 90 right now. I sighed and stood up.

I walked carefully to the thermostat in the garage. I took a step inside of it and let out a breath.

This room was about 20 degrees lower than the rest of the house.

I looked at the therm. and it was at 95. The garage was 75. Ha! These were living conditions, in the garage… why would Edward turn it up to 95? I was with him the whole time we got home.

I shrugged it off, he must have done it when we got home, I turned it back down and heard a small rustling.

I turned around and was met with silence. I flipped on all of the switches and looked around. I heard a muffled sound come from the car, but it sounded like metal. My memories of… metal items made me cringe and I gulped.

I heard one more sound and bent down to look under the car and was stopped by a hand on my arm.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Edward's groggy and tired voice asked me. my head did a double take on him. His hair was messed up and his eyes were squinted. There was something in his eyes that I didn't understand, it was like he… he looked protective.

I let myself lean into him, welcoming his protection.

I chuckled, "Um, nothing, I guess I just heard something…"

"Okay, come back inside and I'll check it out tomorrow if you want." He looked tired, but also a little bit worried.

"Um… no that's fine. Probably just the power of suggestion…" he slid his arm underneath my own and helped me back inside. I took one last look in the garage before shaking my head and letting him help me upstairs.

He set me on the bed and turned to leave. Next to me, Nessie stirred.

"Edward?"

He turned around, "Yeah."

"Um… did you turn the thermostat to 95 today?"

He looked confused. "No… why?"

"Um, never mind, g'night."

He nodded and left, I shook my head and went to bed, hell, I could've turned it up without knowing. I kissed Nessie on the head and yawned.

I frowned, here, I had Jacob and Nessie with me and Edward was all alone. With all my heart, I wanted to join him.

I looked at Nessie, and she was sleeping soundly, next to Jacob. My legs felt restless and I gently stood from bed. I tip toed out of the room and heard Edward snoring, I smiled.

This would be the perfect time, I walked to the computer just off of the kitchen. I pressed the power button and went on Google.

"Okay Bella… let's see if this works…" I whispered to myself.

I typed into the search engine. 'when you like a guy' oh God this is embarrassing!

I pressed enter quickly. I glanced around and found that no one was watching. I got 1,000,000 hits and I groaned, embarrassed and picking the first one I saw.

The page was covered in roses and pink and my eyes grew wide. It was a quiz...

Do you feel happy around him or her?

Answer- yes...

Do you often embarrass yourself in front of this person?

Answer- yes…

Do you feel a heat or a tingle in your stomach around this person? This is physical.

I blushed… physical? Okay… answer- yes…

Do you feel the need to be around this person?

Yes…

Does it seem like time doesn't exist around this person?

Well… yes… kind of… yes.

What are the first initials of your names?

What the hell?

B & E.

Do you want to be around this person now?

Well… yeah. I do.

I clicked on the button that said 'submit results' and I waited nervously for the results to add up. This was so embarrassing…

The results came in three, large, horrifying words – YOU'RE IN LOVE!

I quickly clicked the back button. I clicked on another one of my results.

_It's a complicated thing, to like someone. To me, there are two distinct attractions. Physical and mental._

_Mental- it is the connection where two people like the same things, and like to be around one another. That is called compatibility, when you fit together like two puzzle pieces and have the same interests._

Well… we both like to bake? We both love Renesmee?

_Physical- when you talk to, think about, or are around this person, do you feel a heat or a tingle deep inside of you? And do you sometimes get the need to cross your legs or fidget? This is called physical attraction._

No question about that one…

_Oh, did I forget to mention the third one, it is both of them combined. That, my friend, is when you have found love-_

I clicked back before you could count to three. So what? Two websites… um… how about three…

I clicked on a third option-

_There isn't really a lot to say, when you feel the need to be around someone, if they make you happy? That's all that counts right? Love is-_

BACK! I clicked that button about 5 times and shut off the computer… Whoa, I felt a pattern going on here and I didn't like it...

I stood from the computer and walked back, thinking about what the websites had said.

I looked to the clock and saw that it was 3 a.m. I plopped down on my pillow.

--

I looked around the next morning, it was about 6 a.m. but I didn't get too much of a good sleep. The more I thought about what the computer had said, the more it made sense. Edward was nice, funny, kind, and thoughtful… and… well… he wasn't lacking in anything _physical,_ I blushed against my pillow and groaned.

E.P.O.V.

I got an early start the next morning, being a doctor, I had to deal with some strange hours. Ha! I haven't been to work in a good two months.

It didn't matter, I had 8 more months vacation time and had enough money to get everyone in this house through retirement, even the dog.

I smiled, it was about 5 a.m. Last night, Bella had asked me about the thermostat. I frowned, she seemed sort of unsettled.

She said it was nothing but that made me even angrier, we weren't supposed to have any more secrets.

Well, she did sort of tell me, from the way she looked back at the garage… I threw on a pair of jeans and walked to the garage. I flipped on all of the light switches and crouched next to the car.

I took a good look underneath it and didn't see anything. I grabbed a flashlight. I raised the car a little, Emmett had thought me a lot about cars so I could easily raise it with the right tools.

I took a flashlight and slid underneath the car, I looked around in a less cursory way. I looked around and raised myself to the side, I still saw nothing and slid out. I looked at the mirror that Alice had insisted was a necessary item for all functional garages and saw my bare chest with grease stains on it. My face looked the same and my hair a little bit scruffier.

Wow, that was a pretty picture, I laughed at myself and moved on to the other parts of the garage.

I looked for about an hour and didn't find anything, I gave up and stepped inside. My nose was instantly alert and my taste buds watering. I smelled French toast, sausage, and eggs.

I licked my lips and stepped in further to find Bella cooking the delicious food, Nessie on one of the bar stools.

"Mamma, I want some now!" Bella rolled her eyes.

"We need to wait for daddy okay. He'll be out soon." She tapped her fingers.

I loved how she referred to me as daddy now, it warmed my heart.

"I'm here."

Nessie ran up to me and gave me a hug while Bella stood, face white, eyes on my chest. She had a spatula in her right hand, gripping it harshly.

She gulped and closed her eyes, handing Renesmee a plate of food while she gobbled it up.

Bella's breath was coming short and her mouth open a tad and I frowned. Was I really that bad?

I sighed and Bella's whole body shivered and she bit her lip. Suddenly her eyes widened and she crossed her legs and fled from the room.

I guess I really was that bad…

I frowned and plated up some for myself and Nessie was telling me animatedly about a dream she had last night.

After kissing her forehead, I went to go do our dishes and take a shower. I threw on some other jeans and a black tee shirt. Maybe she wouldn't run away now…

I went downstairs to find no one there, I flipped on the TV.

B.P.O.V.

I sighed once I stepped out of the shower. I had gotten rid of my… problem… but it wasn't really all that satisfying. To tell the truth… I had never… done that kind of thing before… but it seemed like that was the kind of thing that came naturally… and it kind of did. Even though I was alone, it was embarrassed…

"Mamma?"

I wrapped a towel around myself and opened the door to let in Renesmee.

"yeah, honey."

She sat on top of the counter while I brushed out my hair.

"Why did you run away during breakfast?"

My hand froze on the brush and I gulped… what was I supposed to say…

"Um… sweetie… when you get much…. Much, much, _much_ older, you will be around guys that you like, Nessie."

She nodded and leaned back. "So you like daddy? Why did you run away?"

I let out a deep breath. "That's one way you could say it. I… well… the reason I ran away from the kitchen, sweetie, is because, um… I was physically attracted to daddy."

She looked confused, "What?"

"Um… okay, I'm only saying this once. The way your daddy dressed this morning made me…"

"um... okay, Mamma, I'm going to go now…" I smiled, I was spared!

I slumped back against the counter in relief as she skipped out of the room. I was happy to dodge that bullet…

E.P.O.V.

There was nothing good on TV so I turned it off and closed my eyes, rubbing them with my hands.

I felt a little pressure on my stomach and a giggle and I opened my eyes and chuckled.

"Well, hello."

"Hey Daddy, do you know why Mamma ran away today?"

I sighed, "Not exactly." I lied, I didn't want to tell my daughter that her mother was disgusted with me…

She smiled widely, "Weeell, I do!!"

My eyes shut and I shifted. "You do?"

"Yeah… Mamma told me. I'm gonna try to tell ya exactly what she tol' me… okay, she said… "The… um… the… no! it was… this ways. "The way yo'r dad was dressed made me… what is it she said next?"

I didn't want her to continue…

"She said she was f-fix-fixablely d-detracted from you." I almost laughed.

I can 100% be sure that Bella wasn't 'fixablely detracted' from me, whatever that meant. She probably said something like physically disgusted…

I wasn't about to correct her though.

--

Renesmee had spent the next hour trying to remember what Bella had said, but I truly did want her to remember.

"Farmingly enacted?"

I looked around and nothing, except for my daughter, satisfied my eyes, I decided to check my email and she joined me. I pressed the power button.

"Phy- physically! That was the first word!" She was getting closer and I sighed, waiting for her to say 'disgusted'.

"Physically… enabled?"

I tapped my fingers on the wood, trying to pass time faster.

The screen loaded up and I was immediately perplexed to find a page with roses and pink covering it. on the top, in elegant letters it said _Love Quiz._

I honestly wondered why this was here… I was kind of amused… did this just pop up? I read further.

"Physically detached…"

Do you feel happy around him or her?

Answer- yes...

Do you often embarrass yourself in front of this person?

Answer- yes…

Do you feel a heat or a tingle in your stomach around this person? This is physical.

answer- yes…

"Physically… concentrated?"

Do you feel the need to be around this person?

Answer-Yes…

Does it seem like time doesn't exist around this person?

Answer-Well… yes… kind of… yes.

What are the first initials of your names?

B & E.

Do you want to be around this person now?

Answer-Well… yeah. I do.

My jaw probably hit the floor… I couldn't believe the words on the page. I didn't do this, and Nessie didn't do this… Bella.

Bella did this.

"Physically attracted!"

_Attracted?_

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	9. Normalcy? I DON'T THINK SO! redone

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Last chapter-

My jaw probably hit the floor… I couldn't believe the words on the page. I didn't do this, and Nessie didn't do this… Bella.

Bella did this.

"Physically attracted!"

_Attracted?_

This chapter-

B.P.O.V.

I combed my hair out, finally, and went downstairs. I paused at the bottom step and saw Nessie with her happy face on and Edward sitting away from the computer, he looked distressed, over-worked, and… joyful? He also kind of looked a little relieved but I really couldn't tell. His hair was its usual tussled self and his eyes looked distant.

The computer screen was black and I walked forward. I wonder if he wasn't feeling well.

My forehead creased with worry and I walked up to him.

"Edward? Are you feeling alright?"

His eyes snapped to me at an alarming speed. He then looked to Nessie, "Hey, honey, do you want to go upstairs for a nap, I have to talk to your mother for a second."

Nessie, at the perfect time, yawned and trudged upstairs.

"What's wrong? Are you okay, Edward?" I was worried now, and he stood up.

I was getting more worried by the second and he studied my face carefully for a moment, it also didn't help that the way he was looking me over made me turn into goo.

"Hmm…" he cocked his head to the side and I tried to keep my eyes locked on his face. He eyed me over once more. I could see him thinking about something, it was like he was moving and positioning himself just _for_ me to see how I react.

I fought the immense urge to just… just… to tell you the truth I really didn't know, just do something.

I fidgeted, after what seemed like an eternity, he pushed off of the wall with his foot and walked towards me.

He stopped about a foot away and my breath hitched. He cocked his head to the side, and his eyes seemed to… be examining my reactions. I was confused but too… caught in the moment to move…

He leaned back and my breath let itself out. He raised an eyebrow for a second. His arms crossed around himself; my eyes were transfixed by the small movements that his… rather large muscles were making, I blushed and he nodded a little bit.

His head cocked to the other side and after about a minute, he looked to the window and made a smug, heavy smirk, why? I had no clue, but the way he was just looking at me made me want to consult the internet again…

I took a rather loud gulp, and as if he knew how discomforted I was, took a step back.

"Uh…" I was rather dazed… I really didn't know what was happening.

Edward looked as if he had just gotten an A plus on a calculus test. I didn't have time to decipher the look though.

I shook my head again and, for the second time, Edward smirked.

I was growing extremely uncomfortable with being this close to him and not being able to do anything about it.

I blinked a couple of times before I spoke… or tried to.

"Um… what was that about?" Edward just rubbed the back of his neck.

"Something I _might_ tell you about later, but for now, I think I'll keep it to myself."

As I tried to figure out what that meant he winked at me and retreated to the living room. I was too confused to even stare after him.

What the hell… I shook my head and went upstairs to be around Nessie for a while. She could distract me for a while.

I walked upstairs and was more than disappointed to find her still asleep. I sighed. I quietly paced the room, from the bed to the door.

I was contemplating whether I could toughen up and go figure out what he meant or if I should stay in here like the coward I was… I looked at the clock.

6 P.M. I gasped, I've been in here for hours.

"Bella?" a loud voice called me from down stairs and even just hearing his voice was too much…

"Um… Yeah?" I called out.

"I'm going to start on dinner… are you alright?"

My eyes shut, "Yeah, never better… I'll be down soon…" my voice cracked and heightened for a word or two.

"Alright." his voice sounded pleased with something.

I ran to the bathroom for a second and gave myself a small pep talk. "Okay, Bella… you can do this… he's just a guy, and you can control yourself. Just focus on the main goal. Food."

I splashed a couple of handfuls of water on my face before putting on my game face and waking up Nessie to go downstairs for dinner. I walked out into the room and saw that Nessie wasn't in the bed.

Renesmee was already out of bed so I shrugged and walked downstairs.

When I got there Edward was on the phone and pinching the bridge of his nose and looked very frustrated… I am more than embarrassed to admit that I wasn't that worried about his frustration, but more distracted with how… strong he looked when he was angry… does that even make sense?

He angrily clicked end on the call button and dropped the phone on the counter. Before, I would have been a little nerved and sheepish about his anger.

… but I figured that if without him I'd already be dead anyways… what does it matter now, huh? I laughed inwardly at my joke and walked into the kitchen. He was rubbing the back of his head while he shot angry glares at the oven, I giggled.

"What happened?"

He looked a little startled to see me and he blinked, but then he sighed. "I burnt dinner… so I ordered out."

He looked embarrassed and, just as he mentioned, the kitchen smelled like burnt chicken.

"Alright, well, you could've asked me to help you, you know…" just then, another smirk appeared on his face.

"Oh, I don't think so… you looked pretty distracted." I blushed, trying not to think of how distracted I had actually been.

"Oh, um, okay, where's Renesmee?" he shook his head for a second.

"She's watching cartoons. I got us pizza, do you like pepperoni?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I remember my mom and I always used to eat them in between the cheese." I thought about that for a moment then shook my own head.

"Well… did you guys ever used to have any plans for Halloween?" my eyes narrowed, it was my least favorite day, I was kind of jumpy…

"Um… I guess I wasn't ever really good with scary things… even though my life is a scary thing… I just-"

"Bella, it's fine, it's just that Halloween is tomorrow and we live in kind of a big neighborhood, it's my tradition to hand out the best candy and dress up."

My mouth opened. "Halloween's tomorrow? Well… I wouldn't mind that, as long as it won't be scary."

He smiled, "It won't be. But does Renesmee want to go trick or treating?"

I thought for a moment, "Hmm, I never really thought about it…" it's not like we wouldn't be safe with Edward. "If you were there I probably wouldn't be that scared though." I blushed at how incapable I sounded, but it was true.

He smiled, "I wouldn't think about leaving you alone for a second." I smiled and blushed.

Renesmee walked in.

"What's for dinner?"

I quirked an eyebrow at Edward, willing him to explain why the pizza is being delivered. Edward looked uncomfortable and I spoke up for him.

"Um… well… Nessie, we forgot to make dinner so we ordered pizza." Edward sighed and Nessie smiled.

"Okay, I'm gonna put on some TV." We nodded and she left.

"Hey Bella, I need to talk to you after dinner… I saw something yesterday that I'm king of confused about, and I think you could clear it up for me."

Just then the expression in his eyes changed, it was like they were on fire, I gasped, and he fought a smile.

I shook my head, I don't think I learned everything from the internet yet… I'll go on later and find out.

I looked back at Edward to find him cleaning out the oven where the casualty of poultry was suffered.

I smiled, trying not to stare at his… well… you know, for too long and instead focused on Renesmee. She was laughing along with something the TV was saying and, if you didn't know us, we would seem completely normal.

I leaned back against the counter and closed my eyes for a while.

About five minutes later the doorbell rang. I went to go get it.

I opened the door to find someone who didn't fit the definition of a pizza guy. He looked high class, and French, I would have thought he was attractive if I didn't know Edward, but I did, so he just looked kind of normal.

I smiled at him and reached out for the pizza box. I was a little bit shocked. He looked over me like I was a picture of a playboy model, and nodded at points.

I was very uncomfortable, I looked behind me, to see Edward, more than pissed, walking up.

He stepped in front of me and roughly took the pizza box, shutting the door in his face without paying him.

As if I was still around him, he slung his arm over my shoulder and walked me to the kitchen. I welcomed him in.

It wasn't like that was the most comfortable thing ever… I looked at him and silently said thanks, he still looked tense, but he nodded and rubbed my arm.

"Nessie, dinner." Edward called from the kitchen and she skipped in and licked her lips when we handed he a piece.

I grabbed two pieces and rolled my eyes when Edward took four.

He laughed at me, "Hey, I don't know how you survive with just two…"

I sighed and walked to the table, smiling.

Edward followed behind me and we ate, all of us looking at Renesmee when she spilled her milk all over herself and cried.

Edward shot up to go to her, but froze, looking at me. I smiled at him and gestured my head to her, and he said a silent 'thanks' before scooping her up in his arms and washing her off.

As I watched him comfort her with almost no effort on his part, I was happy. Edward truly was perfect. You could just see how much she looked up to him, she even laughed through her tears as he leaned his foreheads against hers, telling her that it happens all the time. She wrapped her tiny arms around him and he hugged her back.

I was smiling as I stared at them, and Edward looked at me, noticing my staring, and smiled back, still tending to Nessie, but saying more than enough with his eyes.

He hugged her and walked her back, kissing her head and replacing the milk.

She was happy. Edward was happy. I was happy.

I knew, right then, that my life was perfect, well, almost.

--

When we finished our dinner Nessie went up to bed.

I was washing the dishes and Edward was beside me, wrapping up the left over pizza so someone could eat it tomorrow. Edward looked tense and anxious.

I was reluctant for what was coming, but I knew, from Edward's posture, that he was anxious to talk.

"So, what is it you want to talk about?"

Edward put the pizza in the fridge then looked back to me.

"Well… it's about yesterday, something I don't understand, I mean, I think the actual intent was pretty obvious and it sort of adds up, but at the same time it doesn't." he looked like he didn't actually want to say what he was talking about directly…

I was beyond confused and smiled a little, "O-kay?" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, I bit my lip.

"what I'm trying to say, is that I was on the compu-"

He was interrupted by a loud knock on the door, and I walked to it, Edward's arm around my shoulder, as if he thought it would be the same guy. His arm around me forced me to walk a little bit behind him.

I mentally rolled by eyes, but was still thankful he was there, I opened the door and was confused to see two people probably twice the size of Emmett… out of instinct, I huddled into Edward and he protectively stood in front of me.

"Who are y-" Edward was cut off by a sharp blow. He made a surprised gasp and stumbled into me, I used all of my strength to push him back up and when he regained his balance he grabbed me and hid me behind the door, before hitting the guy back with equal force.

I didn't see much but I heard a bunch of strangled noises before I looked around the door, and saw Edward and this guy in a full blown fight. The other one stepped inside and grabbed me.

"Edward! Help!" my voice was cut off by his rough hand but Edward instantly looked up to see me struggling against this giant.

He made a low growling sound and I kicked this guy in the shins, but he ended up crashing on top of me.

"Oof! Edwa-" my voice was cut off yet again, but by a knee coming in fast and hard contact with my stomach. I whimpered as tears escaped my red eyes as I watched Edward trying to get to me, but being taken over by the burly man on top of him.

I tried to get his name out with all of my strength, but when my attackers hand held my neck tightly, I screamed and fell limp, the last thing in my vision was Edward being crushed to the ground.

Everything went black…

Edward…

E.P.O.V.

I was shocked at what had just happened, it took me a second to figure out what I would do, but without thinking twice, I had this massive bastard pinned underneath me, pushing Bella out of the way.

"Edward!" I barely heard Bella yelling for me, I punching him in the gut, and he clutched himself, but managed to kick me. I was knocked to the side to see Bella being taken by yet another person. I jumped for him, but was kicked aside yet again. The air was taken out of my mouth as my lungs were panting for air.

I still heard Bella screaming, I had to do something. My body was still aching but I struggled to get up. My mouth opened for air, but was unable to get any, I felt a violent pain in my neck, and everything went black…

Bella…

**Did you see that coming? I sure hope not! Don't worry, everything you're confused about now, will be explained, and Bella and Edward's relationship will progress. It was a joint ending!!!!!**

**I just wanted to say HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Haha, I'm dressing as a ninja!**

**Chapter question- WHAT ARE YOU DRESSING UP AS?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	10. Stupid Choices and Confusion

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Bunches of you guys are amazing, obviously, I got questions on who the hell these guys were… but I meant to not tell you, you'll find out soon enough!**

**A bunch of you dressed up as Bella!**

**Im doing something new, starting this chapter, I am going to have a shout out of the chapter, to my favorite review of the last chapter.**

**SHOUT OUT OF THE CHAPTER (Goes to, drum roll please….)**

**Monique1991!!!!! Congrats girl!!**

**Monique1991-… okay, you out smarted me… she found out something I forgot, to include Jake in the chapter and have him injured… so let's go with the boring route and say that he was upstairs with Nessie, hey, you never know, that could be my next twist…**

**She brought to my attention that I failed to include Jake in the last chapter, you win, so, for that, you are my reviewer on the chapter-**

**I don't know if I'll have everything explained this chapter, maybe next and have this suspenseful… hmm. **

**Let's find out what I do!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

I tried to get his name out with all of my strength, but when my attackers hand held my neck tightly, I screamed and fell limp, the last thing in my vision was Edward being crushed to the ground.

Everything went black…

Edward…

E.P.O.V.

I was shocked at what had just happened, it took me a second to figure out what I would do, but without thinking twice, I had this massive bastard pinned underneath me, pushing Bella out of the way.

"Edward!" I barely heard Bella yelling for me, I punching him in the gut, and he clutched himself, but managed to kick me. I was knocked to the side to see Bella being taken by yet another person. I jumped for him, but was kicked aside yet again. The air was taken out of my mouth as my lungs were panting for air.

I still heard Bella screaming, I had to do something. My body was still aching but I struggled to get up. My mouth opened for air, but was unable to get any, I felt a violent pain in my neck, and everything went black…

Bella…

This chapter-

E.P.O.V.

I winced as I tried to stay perfectly still. My breaths were cut off by sharp chest pains, I also felt a inflammation behind my knee, something I recognized as Bursitis; but it could have been nothing.

It might also be a torn ligament, but it was only a conjecture. I would need to examine us both later.

Bella wasn't awake yet, and I was trying to keep her that way, she would be experiencing major pains later, what I had concluded, based on guesswork, by my examinations, is that they had used something similar to a mallet or a crowbar on our knees while we were unconscious.

This meant that moving our legs would be nearly impossible.

That was basically it for me, which was nothing compared to what they had done to Bella. My face contorted into a grimace as I took in her sleeping image, I had examined her already.

On top of the knee and chest injuries that I had been given, she had been beaten in her lower back, large, red gashed could be seen.

I had taken off my shirt to pile under her knees, to reduce the swelling.

I was also extremely thankful for the bottle of pain pills I had in my tiny first aid kit, along with Neosporin and some soothing pads.

I was resentful that it was all I had, but I had to work with it.

I worked on Bella first, I applied medicine to her back, and she winced in her sleep. I tore my shirt in two to wrap around her back, and on her knees.

We would have to dry swallow the pain pills, which didn't look too fun, but it was better than the intense alternative of pain.

When Bella was… sufficiently taken care of, I dry swallowed two of the pain pills.

I sighed as Bella's soft face took on an expression of pain. I smoothed her hair back and pulled her into me, she relaxed a bit and I felt the pain start to ebb, I looked around us.

The room slightly resembled the one Bella had been bound in when the… cannibals came.

I almost laughed, only Bella could find cannibals, _cannibals_, in an area as normal as Chicago…

I sighed, I don't think we're in Chicago anymore, it's possible.

The room was a bit more accommodating; it had light blue painted walls and a window.

If I could move, I would carry us away, oh, that is stopping me, and the fact that the window was behind us.

The room would look like something out of an old folks home if it wasn't small, the window wasn't so far away, and if we weren't in a car.

I winced every time the car hit a rough bump, like the driver was purposely prolonging our pain.

I was just happy Bella wasn't up, but it also worried me. I had woken up about three hours ago, and we lived just inside of Chicago, this gave us plenty of time to be out of Illinois by now…

I was trying not to let my thoughts get to me, but Renesmee was bound to be crying right now, and it physically and emotionally hurt not to comfort her.

Jake was there, he saved Bella, and he seemed to be drawn to Nessie, he could help her, I wrote down Alice's number… she's a smart kid, I convinced myself not to worry too much.

I was worried though, I tried to focus on how to get us out of here, we couldn't move, Bella was unconscious, and I was worried as hell.

I forced myself to think… to think about how I _almost_ told Bella that I knew…

I mean, I guess I never really thought she thought of me that way, it made me happy, but I didn't know how _I_ felt about her.

I knew she was beautiful, and I know I want to kiss her, and show her that not everyone wants to hurt her, but love her.

I looked at her in my arms, I was proud to be the one she looked to for comfort, the one she wanted in more ways than one.

To be completely honest, I had looked through her searches… I don't think she knew much about what she was going through.

I was sort of sympathetic towards her, she did not know a lot about this sort of thing, but I would be more than proud to teach her, to be the first one _and_ the last one to teach her.

I gulped, I just had to have hope that I would get the chance to teach her; I'd think about that later… Bella stirred in my arms and my hand flew to her mouth just in time to muffle her scream.

He eyes widened as she struggled against me, opening her mouth to bite me.

"Bella! Bella, shh!" I whisper/yelled to her and her scared and wide eyes let a tear escape as she closed her mouth and buried herself in my chest.

After about five minutes she looked back up to me, wincing in pain.  
"I-it hurts, Edward." Her eyes gave away her discomfort and I took out the pain pills, handing her two of them.

She swallowed them quickly, not even asking what they were. I rubbed soothing circles on her back as she looked up to me, clutching at my chest while her wide and teary eyes begged me to explain something.

It caused me pain to not be able to explain.

I pulled her into me and sighed, dejected. I felt as helpless as she did, but I couldn't show her that, I had to be the strong one here.

She needed comfort and I had to offer it. I had to make her believe that we would be alright.

Bella froze in my arms, and lifted herself up, her eyes locked on my shirtless torso, I would have been embarrassed if I hadn't already known that she liked it. she gulped and her attention was drawn to her pain again when we went over a bump.

We went over another bump and Bella whimpered quietly, trying not to alert anyone that we were awake.

She yanked her hand from my back and gripped her knee, I covered her mouth again just in time to cover her scream. I looked into her eyes, trying to push the pain away.

Tears spilled out from her eyes. I tried to do anything that I could, she looked like she was in _so _much pain…

She looked to me, her eyes desperate…. I- I just couldn't _do_ anything, that thought killed me…

I sighed in defeat and pulled her closer, planting a light kiss on her forehead without even thinking about it.

I reveled in the feeling of her being so close. I felt her stiffen beneath me and when I pulled away I saw shock written all over her face.

She stayed like that, frozen for a while. I wasn't worried, I knew how she felt about me, I think she was just caught by surprise.

After a while she brought her fingers up to ghost over her forehead, and a slow, lazy smile took over her face.

A small blush covered her cheek bones as she bit her lip and laid on my chest and sighed.

Did I mention that her tears stopped for a while?

That thought soothed me for a while; until I looked around again, I gulped as she hid into my chest some more, I could live with myself if she was placated even for a few seconds.

We went past a few more bumps, Bella whimpering in pain, before she spoke quietly.

"My… my back hurts, so do my knees." She looked to me for guidance, I guess pain overtook the small kiss I gave her, but then again, being struck as many times as she had been, she shouldn't have been distracted at all.

But, how was I supposed to tell her that she had been beaten up while she was unconscious?

I couldn't bring myself to… I was a coward, but I couldn't tell her what had happened to her…

I looked at her, torn between telling her how hurt she was, or sugar coating it, from the look on her face, I could tell she didn't want to hear either version…

I whispered, "Well, Bella… I don't know everything that happened to you, but…" I looked at her, indecisive, "you have large cuts on your back, I think we both are suffering from bursitis or a torn ligament in our knees. It's really not that bad, I did the best I could with what I had but-"

She gulped, "Thanks… w-will we be alright?"

She looked so worried and nervous, I didn't know the answer, so I just held her closer.

Just then, we heard rustling in the front seat and Bella shivered and hid even more in my chest.

I hadn't realized that Bella's voice had risen on that sentence.

"Idn't that sbeet, boz? She's scar'd." someone spoke from the front, sounding like an illiterate teenager.

I shouted without thinking, "Bastard, what kind of sick people are you!"

"Aw, he'd scar'd to's. what did dat boss, ya thank?"

We heard a loud slap from the front seat and Bella cowered into me. I held her, rocking her back and forth to the rhythm of the road bumps, which I think they were purposely going faster for, to prolong our pain, I'm glad I had pain pills…

"Shut up, Cal! Yo'r stupid!" this guy sounded like the epitome of a murderous mafia boss.

Bella leaned up really close to my ear, so as not to be heard by anyone but myself.

I felt a small tear land on my neck, she spoke in a shaky voice, "Is it so selfish and horrid of me to be happy I'm not alone?"

She sounded terrified. I swiftly kissed her temple before whispering reassuring nothings into her ear, while she sobbed, trying to be quiet, into me.

--

About an hour had passed, Bella had fallen asleep from all of the crying, and it was my turn to panic now.

I was the man here, and I felt helpless. I mean, she had told me earlier that she was glad she wasn't alone, and I was too, but why would she be glad I was here?

I was useless to her…

She had fallen asleep still clutching me, it was something that had distracted me for a while.

Truth be told, I hadn't exactly thought about how I felt about her, I knew I liked her, and I knew I thought she was beautiful, and I knew I loved her in a certain sense.

And I knew that I had already thought about this, but I couldn't seem to finish my thoughts.

But it was the way she looked so peaceful in her sleep, the way she had trusted me with all of her heart, how she looked to me for comfort and strength.

It was the way she fit into my arms, that made me realize what I should've known when I first met her.

It didn't hit me, all of a sudden, just looking at her.

But I knew, it was confirmed when I heard her sigh my name in her sleep, and then smile.

It was when she had dreamed of me, when I felt that sense of fulfillment, just looking at her.

I-I was, against all of my astonished thoughts, in l-

My thought was interrupted by a rough stop of whatever we were inside of right now. I think it was a van…

The stop jerked Bella awake and she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, looking automatically to me for an answer.

It _killed _me that I couldn't give her any other than, "We stopped."

She nodded and turned around, nestling herself in between my legs and wrapping my arms around her while she cowered into me, and I held her tightly, at least wanting to give the impression that I wasn't worried.

I heard the car doors open and slam in the front and Bella's grip on my forearms tightened, this didn't seem right, why was Bella in front of me?

I saw the door open to what I now confirmed was a van and saw our two attackers.

Without thinking, I pushed Bella behind me, and tried to be the man here.

The two 'men' smirked and a low growl vibrated through my chest as I could basically feel Bella's fear from behind me.

"Look, we're not supposed to fight you." The bigger one said with rolled eyes, did that mean our injuries weren't supposed to happen? "and the boss man will be pissed at us already, but you gots to go to your room."

He said, he smirked at us, he _knew_ we couldn't move, let alone walk.

I looked to Bella's nearly broken knees, not caring about my own, and gave them ice cold glares. I could tell that Bella was nervous about walking.

I had to remind myself that I was the man here. The two pieces of scum in front of us held out their hands, motioning us to go, but thinking we couldn't.

I concentrated all of my thoughts on Bella. She needed me. I would be there.

With one arm, I lifted a shocked Bella onto my lap, and with my other arm, scooted to the edge of the van to get out.

One of them looked flabbergasted that I was even attempting to move, while the other looked purely amused.

Bella, yet again completely trusting me, clutched my neck with her arms as her eyes gave me reassurance.

I gulped as my legs dangled from the edge of the van. I looked around, one arm still securely wrapped around Bella, and saw a pale white home about 60 yards away.

I looked to my left and saw road, I looked to my right and say more road. Empty road.

I glared at the amused pair once more, and glared, 60 yards in this much pain? They could have parked at the doors.

I wasn't worried about that, I was worried about Bella.

I looked to her once more and she nodded, ducking her head in the crook of my neck. I, once more, made sure that it was impossible to drop Bella, and my knees screamed in pain as I jumped to the ground.

I was able to not fall by grabbing onto the edge of the van, but my eyes bulged out of my head in excruciating pain. Bella was clutching onto me and, gripping her tighter, attempted a step.

I tried my hardest to ignore the pain, paying attention to Bella instead.

My knees shook tremendously as I thought of something, with every step, to live for.

Bella, Nessie, Alice, Emmett, Jasper, Jake, Rosalie, Bella, my parents, the hospital, Bella… Nessie…Bella…

Bella.

With that thought, my wobbly knees had made it half way there, two monsters awaiting us at the door.

"Edward… just set me down, I can walk…" she looked worried about me.

I took three more unsure steps, Bella's hand was rubbing lazy circles on the back of my neck, I could tell she was trying to comfort me, but her face betrayed her fear.

The pain was now a little bit numb and I was able to walk a little faster, and in the duration of probably 10 minutes, I had made it to the door, Bella intact.

I smiled and walked through the door they held open, angry at my perseverance.

"You can-"

I rolled my eyes and walked with a little bit more ease, from the pain pills.

"If you say 'let me down now.' I really won't." I tried to stay calm but it wasn't working.

I sighed. The men led us down a long, white hallway, and I could feel Bella's eyes on me the entire time I was walking us down it.

I took a deep breath as they stopped. They opened a big, metal door with only a cot and tan walls.

I laid Bella down onto the cot and turned back to them.

"The boss will come and see you soon."

"Look, can we just-" they smirked and slammed the door in my face.

We were left in silence.

Bella used her arms to push herself up on the cot and patted the seat next to her, for me.

I slowly made my way over to her and sat next to her.

I made an exasperated sigh and held my face in my hands, rubbing up and down, trying to figure out what to do.

"I-I'm sorry, Edward… this is all my fault…"

I pulled her onto my lap, "This is in no way your fault, Bella, do you even know those people?

She sighed, "Well… no, but what are the chances it has to do with you?"

I chuckled, "It doesn't matter, regardless, we need to get out of here… I have no idea how though."

Bella looked so helpless, just sitting on my lap, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"Who could that be though…"

I sighed, "Bella, I have absolutely no idea, but we need to find out, they know where we live."

Bella started to tear up and then gasped, "Renesmee!" she looked up to me in shock.

My eyes shut tightly.

"Bella… I truly don't know what to do," I rubbed up and down the length of her back while she fidgeted on my lap, "Alice said she would come visit us soon, and Nessie knows how to use a phone. She has Jake, she'll be fine, I have no doubt of that."

"I know… but-"

"Bella, we're both worried. But we have to have faith that she's going to be okay… she turns four in…"

"May. She turns four in May."

"Alright then, May. Is the pain any worse?"

I was genuinely worried about her, "Um… my back doesn't hurt that much, and my knees just feel numb."

Come to think of it, my knees felt okay too, I'm sure it was just the pills though, but I smiled at her encouragingly, hoping for her to salvage hope.

Her head was cocked to the side and a small bunch of hair fell over her cheeks.

I raised my hand up and gently pushed it back behind her ear, were my hand now rested.

Bella blushed, but I almost felt her stop fidgeting, almost as not to lean into my hand, I smiled and cupped her cheek. Her breath hitched and I found myself leaning forward, until my forehead was resting on hers.

She looked frozen in shock, even though I hadn't tried to kiss her. Yet.

Was that even what I was doing? I knew it was what I wanted to do. I knew it was what she wanted to do. But the setting just… felt…_wrong._

I sighed and leaned back, bringing my hand away from her face. Bella looked to the ground, looking as if she mentally kicked herself. She looked…. Dejected, although, most of her attention was on my chest, trying not to stare and avert her eyes.

I took in a breath, I realized that there were more ways than one to take my withdrawal.

I quickly wrapped my arms around her again, "Soon, but not here… just… not here."

She looked up at me, sad and confused, willing me to explain, I sighed.

"I was trying to-"

I felt a vibrate in my pocket, Bella looked down, she felt it too.

"My phone."

I checked and it was just a text from Verizon. I put it back in my pocket.

"I was trying to say that I-"

Bella stared at me incredulously, "You have a phone with you?!"

"Yeah… the point, please?"

Bella looked at me as if I was missing something obvious. My phone… MY PHONE!

My eyes widened, "Oh I get it!" Bella laughed at me and I took my phone out again.

"Who should we call?"

Bella thought over it… "Um… Nessie first… so we should call Alice and tell her to get Nessie, then to call 911 for us."

I held up my hand, yes, Nessie could be safe first, then we could get out of this hell hole.

"That seems like a good idea."

Bella twisted her fingers, "Do you want to call her or shall I?"

"I'll put it on speaker, okay?" she nodded eagerly and I pressed number three on my speed dial.

Bella was biting her lip and bouncing up and down, I quirked an eyebrow and heard the first ring.

She smiled, "It's not me." she pointed to my leg which I had just now realized was bouncing.

I smiled apologetically and stopped.

"Sorry…"

Bella smiled.

"Hello?"

"Alice?!" Bella and I both said in unison, gasping and looking at each other.

"Yeah?" she laughed, "What's with you guys."

Bella looked like she wanted to talk and I held the phone to her, "Oh thank God! Alice, we need some things from you, please."

"Anything, Bella, talk."

Bella smiled in relief, "Okay, one, we need you to take care of Renesmee… she's at home with Jake, can you please?"

Bella bit her lip and Alice eagerly replied to her, "Of course! But… where are you guys and do you need he-"

Alice was cut off by an automated voice.

"B-att-ery d-ead. I-m s-orry."

**Personally, I hate it when my phone does that, but I think I'd hate it bunches more if I was in their situation. Anyone agree?**

**Haha, I actually had a hard time writing that, my mind was otherwise occupied, but it's already been about four days and I felt bad…**

**I wonder who my next reviewer of the chapter will be? We'll see!**

**Chapter question- WHAT IS THE MOST INSULTING GIFT YOU'VE EVER GOTTEN, THAT WASN'T MEANT TO BE INSULTING?**

**My fortune cookie once said, 'You don't have respect now, but you will get it eventually.'**

**Okay so, WHAT IS THE MOST INSULTING GIFT YOU'VE GOTTEN, THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE INSULTING?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	11. Hmm, Can I Punch You?

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay, one thing, some of you didn't understand that I didn't give you details on purpose, and I did.**

**Here are your details. You weren't supposed to know where they were. Your support actually made me cry some, because this was my dad's third, and hopefully, last surgery in 6 years.**

**You guys, you really warmed my heart, in the time that my dad was going through surgery, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for either praying, sending him positive energy, wishing him well, or even just keeping him in your thoughts.**

**I do, and would love to think that you guys were a huge part in his success. Thank you.**

**My reviewer of the chapter IS!!!!!!**

**Angel27eyes- she got a steam cleaner once… it made me laugh so thanks…. Hang in there! Your Emmett is out there!**

**Here are your precious details…**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

"Hello?"

"Alice?!" Bella and I both said in unison, gasping and looking at each other.

"Yeah?" she laughed, "What's with you guys."

Bella looked like she wanted to talk and I held the phone to her, "Oh thank God! Alice, we need some things from you, please."

"Anything, Bella, talk."

Bella smiled in relief, "Okay, one, we need you to take care of Renesmee… she's at home with Jake, can you please?"

Bella bit her lip and Alice eagerly replied to her, "Of course! But… where are you guys and do you need he-"

Alice was cut off by an automated voice.

"B-att-ery d-ead. I-m s-orry."

This chapter-

E.P.O.V.

I stared at the phone in disbelief. I saw Bella shed a tear and clench her hands, but that only barely registered in my mind.

I threw the dead phone at the wall with all of my strength.

"Fuck!" I slammed my fists against the wall. I turned against it and shut my eyes. I slid down the wall and kept whispering "Oh God" into my hands.

At this point, I knew we were fucked. I tightened my eyes and dropped my head.

I took a few deep breaths before opening my eyes to see a shocked Bella, with a slacked jaw, staring at me. She blinked her eyes a couple of times, then bit her lip. She blushed beat red.

I thought over what had just happened and was shocked and disappointed in myself, "Bella, I-"

"I-It's okay… I understand…"she was blushing and I walked to her, with only a little trouble, at least the pain killers helped...

"Bella… I didn't mean…"

She blushed, "Edward… I didn't mind that much, I'm more worried about getting out of here…"

She looked kind of embarrassed, and I wondered what for, if anyone should be embarrassed, it should be _me._ How could my… swearing… embarrass her. She was probably embarrassed for me, I settled for that.

I sighed, "You're right." I smiled apologetically at her.

"Let's just focus on getting out of here…" her voice was lower than usual but I didn't focus on that.

I was torn. That seemed like the only word for it… I felt useless as well. What was the point in me being here to _protect _Bella if I couldn't even manage to protect myself… or her… I mean, I really have no clue how we'll get out of here…

My biggest hope is that Alice will trace the call and maybe come to help us? I was betting against that… I knew Nessie was alright. Alice would do that for us. But, maybe not… I couldn't help but worry.

She was leaning towards me, and it was the least I could do to console her. I remembered that day on the couch when she wanted to lay on me, and she had that look on her right now.

I lifted her so her back was up against my chest, and she blushed.

My finger was twirling a strand of her hair and she sighed, clutching my other arm to her, at least I wasn't alone… but that might be worse, I would take both places any day.

She gulped loudly, "E-Edward? What's going to happen to us?"

She sounded nervous. I sighed, feeling useless once more, "I don't know Bella. But, I'm going to find out what's going on here. They said that we would be talking to the scum in charge here, and I will get us out."

She hid her face in my arm, "But… what if they hurt us…"

I thought about that for a moment, "Well, they also told us that they weren't _supposed _to hurt us, so we may have been through the worst. I'm sure with a little negotiation they'll let us go. It was probably a hug misunderstanding."

I tried to soothe her but it didn't sound convincing, even to me.

She sniffled, "Well… as long… you…with… be okay." She spoke so muffled that I couldn't hear her, I only heard those words.

"Bella… we'll be fine… you'll see, last resort, I'll bribe them with money, a lot of it. I mean…"

She sniffled.

I sighed and pulled her close to me.

This wasn't right, we didn't do anything wrong.

Bella didn't deserve the life she had… she deserved the child hood and teen hood that I had.

She looked up at me, fear written clearly on her face. There was something else in her eyes, something that expressed sadness.

It… it was that very same look she had on her face when I pulled away from her.

Was she still thinking about that? Had it hurt her _that_ badly that I might not want to kiss her, which I definitely did… I just didn't want to do it _here_. Oh God… she _would_ feel this way… she didn't know how I felt… well, I didn't want to do that here either. Yeah… prolong her sadness…

Add that to my list of horrible qualities…

I sighed, "Bella I-"

The door swung open and crashed into the wall, Bella cowered into me as we saw the two men from earlier step into the room. Immediately, I moved Bella to sit behind me again, her hands clung to my bare back.

I fought back the need to do more than just glare at them, my hand grasping Bella's instead.

Bella gulped loudly and I rubbed small circles on her hand.

I spoke up, determined, "I would like to speak with the man in charge here."

They rolled their eyes, "The master Marcus wishes you to join him for dinner."

The fuck with Marcus… I pursed my lips.

I nodded and leaned back to Bella, "How are your knees?" I whispered ever so lightly and she shrugged.

"Functional, I guess."

My knees were better than hers, and 'functional' wasn't good enough.

I stood up and pulled her with me, wrapping my arm around her waist, giving the guard, or whatever he was, a lethal look as he looked at my Bella.

Yes, possessive.

I walked forward first, behind the two imbeciles, supporting 90% of Bella's weight.

She looked at me and bit her lip as we traveled down the interminable hallway.

"Do you know a Marcus?" I asked her quietly.

She thought about it for a minute and I was glad, I didn't want a quick answer.

"Um… no, not at all, the name means nothing to me…"

What scared me is that it didn't mean anything to me either, maybe it _was_ a mix up.

One of the men looked back to us, whispered in the others' ear, and exited through a door, leaving us alone with imbecile number one.

I sighed and squeezed Bella, trying to give her the faintest glimpse of reassurance.

She held onto me in response. Suddenly, the man stopped, and gestured to a room with a blue door.

I walked in, in front of Bella, but her right behind me. The room was simple, a chair that you only saw the back of, a desk, and plain white walls.

I looked to Bella, and she looked just about as confused as I was. She gripped onto my forearm.

Bella jumped and I cringed as I heard the slamming of a door right behind us. To some, it might have sounded like a door closing.

For us, it was like another shield to the outside world.

"Master, _they_ are here."

As if we were the crazy ones…

"Send them in." Bella and I both almost screamed, in the least gasping. H-his…_ voice_… it… it was something you expected to hear from the Joker… or a, I gulped, serial killer.

What the hell did he want with us…

My eyes bugged out as he stood up, Bella couldn't even look at him, she hid herself from his view.

I didn't, but my nostrils were flaring in fear and my chin shaking.

His form stood at about 7 foot. That was about 10 inches taller than me. His face… I shuttered… his eyes were _completely_ different, one was a deep brown, much muddier than my Bella's… almost black, from left eye… was almost white, a little blue.

I gulped again, it looked like he had half of a mouth, the left side of his mouth ran upwards, but at the same time in different ways… it's like it was _sealed_ together… in fact, the whole left side of his face was contorted in that way… with different indents running up and down it, if you masked the left side of his face, he would just look like he wants to kill you.

I had a feeling I knew why we were here… I thought in fear, but I wouldn't let Bella be hurt…

His shoulders were hunched forward, and his hair only on the right side of his head, he looked like a mix between a bull_dog_, a bull_dozer,_ and a bull_fighter_.

I cringed, Bella was still hiding next to me, he was tan, expect for the left side of his face, which was as white as the phone cover on my blackberry, which I didn't have right now…

Idiot…

'the master' smirked at us, with the right side of his mouth, and strode over to us, I automatically backed away, his legs were thick, but short… his feet clad in spiked, black boots.

He smirked again, "Bella. Bella Swan… you look good."

Bella timidly raised her head to look at him, and jumped back, I growled at him and he rolled his eyes.

He looked to me, pursed his half lip and narrowed his right eye.

"Who the hell are you." His deep and lethal voice asked me.

I pursed my lips, "No one. What do you want with Bella, since I obviously wasn't supposed to be here."

He hopped up on his desk and slouched his permanently curved back even more, it made me straiten mine, Bella did the same.

"Hmm… hol' on hol' on, we'll get there, but first, I need to talk to ya."

I quirked my eyebrow at him, silently telling him to continue.

He coughed, "Bella, do you really not remember me, I know I look a little different, but… it's me, Marcus."

"I haven't ever known a Marcus, and you're… you're… I hate you! I want to leave. Now."

"I second that opinion." I agreed and he snarled at us.

"No way, Bella, you remember, just give it some time, and. As for _you._" He pointed at me, "I am feeling like I just wanna get rid of you."

"NO!" Bella basically screamed at him. My eyes bugged out when he stood to his full height, and brought his hand up, aiming it at Bella.

"Don't you dare defy me!"

His hand started to move towards Bella and I moved in front of her, keeping her, with a firm grip, behind my back.

And he hit me, straight in the jaw. I pushed the pain away, and Bella sobbed behind me and shook. I rubbed along her arm as the beast in front of me jumped and stomped on the ground, and I swear the room shook for a second.

I only held Bella tighter as she tried to lunge for him, I whispered in her ear, "Bella calm down, I'm alright, stop, Bella, for me." at those last few words she stopped struggling and settled for a glare at him.

"As I was saying… I really don't know what to do with you… hmm… I see it displeases Bella, so I might just use you as… someone to help around the house."

Bella's eyes filled with tears, "Who the hell are you."

"I am your master now and I advise you not to use that tone of voice with me!" he snapped at her.

I sighed, maybe I should be taking a different approach… "What do you want? Money?"

"No, I want Bella, and now I _have _Bella, not a trillion dollars could let me give her up.

"You don't own her, she's a person and she gets to make her own decisions."

"Look, Bella. Is. Not. Leaving. No matter what, I messed up years ago, and look what happened." He snarled at us and pointed to the left side of his face.

"I won't let her go again."

Bella grew exasperated and groaned, "You can't let someone go _again_ if you've never met them! Just let us leave!"

He sighed through his half mouth.

"Bella, you _have _met me, and you will know that soon."

"Just tell me your full name and maybe that will ring a bell."

Maybe that would work…

"You don't know me by my name… unfortunately… but you've met me."

"Damnit I've never met you!"

"Shut up!"

Bella glared at him.

He sifted on his feet, then hopped back onto the desk.

"I do have a purpose for you to be here, you on the other hand…" he pointed to me, "I have no idea why you're here. I'll punish them later." He shot a look to the guards and I felt bad for them.

Maybe they could…

"Anyways, maybe you'll have a use here, you seem to make Bella happy…"

He sounded incredulous, and I glared, "Seriously, what do you want… I'll give you anything-"

"Bella. I want Bella."

"Anything _except _Bella."

He growled, "I thought you said she could make her own decisions…"

I smirked this time, knowing full well who she would choose, "Fine, Bella, choose."

"I choose Edward." She said and the massive giant huffed, then his right side of his face brightened, "Edward, is it?"

Bella looked at me apologetically, and I shrugged, I didn't care about it really…

"Doesn't matter. Let us go."

"Uh… let's think for a second… No."

I was pissed and scared now, "Look, just let us go, we have people looking for us… someone will find us. I guarantee it."

He looked at me, skeptically, "Who will be looking for you."

Bella opened her mouth to speak but I muffled her words with my hand, preventing him from hearing any names.

I warned Bella with a glance and she looked disappointed in herself, I wanted to comfort her, but this wasn't the time or place.

My heart ached for her comfort, though.

I sighed, "Why can't you let us go."

"I don't need to give you a reason. But I guess I _could _tell you _why _you're here to stop one question."

He smirked at us and I just stared at him, "So? Why are we here then?"

A giant smirk was plastered upon his face and I wanted to punch it off, he was clearly enjoying this…

"You're here because, four years ago, I did something I wasn't supposed to."

I quirked an eyebrow at him and Bella spoke.

"Which was…"

"Let me finish, four years ago, my father told me to do _something_ and I guess I let my lust get in the way of it, and I let the _something_ get away, and now I have that _something_ again, my dad won't ever try to fuck up my face again." He snarled.

"How does that pertain to us…?"

He smirked heavily again, "That Something? Call her Bella."

**Okay, so if you have a question, ask it.**

**Anyways, I'm sorry I was gone for so so long! My dad is perfectly fine now, thanks to this AWESOME doctor who did his last three surgeries, so I'm happy.**

**Okay, the funniest thing happened to me today, I was baking brownies, right? And I end up almost falling in the oven from the mix on the ground, which I just so happened to drop, and I fell on my sister's biology project… it actually wasn't that funny since I got in trouble, but… since the brownies were for her… it doesn't matter, right?**

**I had to stay up all night reforming a deformed comparison of the most common potassium feldspar, orthoclase, and sodium-calcite feldspar's plagioclase. It wasn't fun, considering that's **_**my**_** Earth science unit this week, I have to learn it TWICE!!! **

**Chapter question- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE 60'S/70'S DISCO SONG?**

**(I wanna know. Just because.)**

**REVIEW!!!**


	12. Tears For Fears

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay, you guys rock! I love you! In a non creepy way of course…**

**I'm not doing a review of the chapter… because SOMEONE just HAD to turn 19 today… geesh lol!**

**Well… this chapter is for a birthday!!! Someone very, very special who was born on November 19, 1990, at 6:30… well… it's 3:30 here… but hey, it's her birthday somewhere… that is MY motto.**

**You know who you are!!! Happy birthday!!!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

Last chapter-

"I don't need to give you a reason. But I guess I _could _tell you _why _you're here to stop one question."

He smirked at us and I just stared at him, "So? Why are we here then?"

A giant smirk was plastered upon his face and I wanted to punch it off, he was clearly enjoying this…

"You're here because, four years ago, I did something I wasn't supposed to."

I quirked an eyebrow at him and Bella spoke.

"Which was…"

"Let me finish, four years ago, my father told me to do _something_ and I guess I let my lust get in the way of it, and I let the _something_ get away, and now I have that _something_ again, my dad won't ever try to fuck up my face again." He snarled.

"How does that pertain to us…?"

He smirked heavily again, "That Something? Call her Bella."

This chapter-

B.P.O.V.

Huh? Did he mean… could he mean… does he even mean anything?

"What the hell did that mean…?" I asked Edward.

"Tell me what he said." I asked Edward again and he looked at me, just as confused as I was.

"It means, lovely little Bella," Edward growled a little as Marcus spoke to me, and I earnestly tried not to think about how much it did to me… and how much Marcus creeped me out… all at the same time…

I was still confused. "Do you remember that night, four years ago?" well… the only eventful thing that happened at night, four years ago--

I looked to Edward again, getting a little panicked, "W-what does he mean…" I said, shaking; surely he couldn't...

Edward almost seemed to be having the same train of thought that I was, and his breath grew heavy, I shook his arm and he shot me a tight lipped smile.

"As I was saying." Marcus spat as he shook off his jacket. He turned to me with a sharp turn of the head.

"My father, four years ago, had enough."

Edward shook the guards off of him, who really weren't fighting to hold him, and roughly wrapped his arms around me, shooting glares at Marcus.

Where the hell did he even find these flimsy ass guards…

But is it so horrible for me to describe him as unbelievably sexy right now…?

I patted his arm gently, and he shot a forced smile at me. I sighed.

"He had enough with what?" I asked, trying to maintain at least _some_ civility, but failing, my mind only occupied in finding the answer, but still failing. At least that's what I gathered from the look on Marcus' face.

He shot me a demented, half smile, I shivered in disgust, "He… is kind of like me in a way or two. He wanted a girl in high school, and so did I."

He ran his finger along my jaw line and Edward pulled me back, taking away Marcus's hand.

I shot him a grateful glance and Marcus shot Edward a glare.

"So… you wanted the same girl or what?" I asked, Edward sighed, he looked confused too now…

"No, well… I guess that's one way of putting it."

"Yes…?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"Well, they were mother/daughter."

I sighed, "And what happened then? Why didn't it work out?" I was sort of intrigued.

" It almost did… My father told me to go and… somehow _attain_ both women." He said, smirking to no one in particular.

"Pig…" Edward and I seemed to whisper at the same time, by the look on his face, he was planning on more than 'attaining' them…

"You haven't even heard the story, little Bella… you can't judge me." his half lip pouted and he looked disgusting.

Edward tightened his arm around me and coughed, "Go on." He said through a clenched jaw.

"So… I obviously thought for a while, on how the best way to do this was… so, I thought, if I put the daughter in danger, the mom would come running. Sounds logical, right?"

"No." Edward and I both shouted at the same time. Though I continued speaking, Edward stopped.

"In fact, I don't find anything about you logical."

Marcus snarled at me and I shrank back into m- Edward.

He pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Remember, little girl, that I have the power to kill you at any time, so shut up, stay where you are, and listen!" I shuttered.

I gulped and Edward pursed his lips, and ran his hand up and down my arm. If the… current situation… hadn't been so horrid, it would have comforted me to no end.

"Oh, and guards, separate them," he turned to us, "I hope you enjoyed that, because you won't be touching her again. Ever."

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes teared up… no…_no…__**no**_! this… this can't happen… Edward…

Edward growled, but through my teary eyes I managed to catch him giving me an… intense look giving me a silent oath that what Marcus just said wasn't true.

I gave him a shaky nod and Marcus tucked his knife back in his pocket. The guards held us back tightly, making sure we couldn't move, and Edward was about 6 feet away from me and the knife... a bit closer than I'd like…

I started to shake and the guard behind me grunted and grumbled something to the other, who laughed in response.

I looked at this Marcus… animal… thing… whatever he was, and he looked to be looking between us.

"Hmm… how about we make this more interesting, shall we?" he asked, with an evil, half grin.

I groaned, you already took Edward away, how much worse could you make this? He answered my question.

"I'm going to tell this painful story to Edward, here, and, have you, Bella, tied to my chair here."

Edward smirked, I could see he was thinking of a way to get to me, already and I let out a breath of relief. Was Marcus really this stupid? Edward could easily distract him and get to me…

"Don't be smiling yet, because I'll be standing behind Bella, with my knife in hand." Marcus winked out of his right eye and Edward's smile disappeared, replaced by a look of pure anger; he clenched his fists and looked at me, telling me something with his eyes, but I didn't know what.

"Every time Edward moves, or talks, or makes a sound." He paused, as if to heighten our suspense, which was already at its pique.

"I will cut off, or just cut, some part of Bella's body."

Edward's eyes bugged out as he found Marcus was serious, I was being tied to this chair, Marcus behind me, he placed the knife over my head.

My breath came in short pants. Hey, at least Edward wasn't in this chair, we should all be thankful for that, right?

Apparently, Edward didn't agree and his response shocked me.

Edward, in all of the ways I had seen him, had _never_ cried. He had been strong while I cried, and he was my rock, but, nothing, _nothing_, had ever pained him so much, as to cry.

This, apparently, was harder than anything for him, and I saw his eyes start to water as he bit on his lip, restraining noise, and looking at me… with that… that look that I couldn't figure out.

I could see tears coming down through his 5 o' clock shadow, as he stared incredulously at the knife and Marcus. He threw hateful glances at Marcus, and threw... am I allowed to say adoring? Glances at me… no, I couldn't go as far to say adoring…

Edward didn't like me like that…

When he looked back to me, his green eyes sparkled with the tears flooding his eyes, and he whispered something to me. I only could two words of it.

"I… you."

His eyes began to dull out as he looked straight at me. he gulped.

I had to say I was stunned, he was upset, I mean, so was I, but I hadn't ever seen him cry…

I gulped. This was bad… my body started to shake and tingle.

"Now, does anyone have any questions?" his voice was purely amused… I hate him.

"Yeah," my shaky voice answered, "What happens if I make noise."

Marcus gave me a half smile, which looked more like a grimace… "Glad you asked, Sweetie," Edward struggled to keep composure, "Nothing. I want these cuts and scrapes to tell Edward that they were his fault, not yours."

My mouth hung open. Maybe…

"Okay, Bella, look right at Edward." That was one command I was already ahead of him on.

I gave Edward a weak smile, and he looked tortured as another batch of tears collided on their way down his face.

Our eyes stayed locked, our one way of keeping unity. I tried in earnest to display all of my emotions for him in my eyes, at least _try_ to wear my heart on my sleeve… I guess… love, care… everything I never got to tell him, a traitorous tear slipped down my face, and I gulped.

Edward gave me a tiny smile, as though some weight had been lifted off of him, I struggled against my confusion and kept my eyes filled with one emotion. For Edward… he gazed at me through his lashes and I fought the urge to ruin this moment by whispering, 'I love you.'

"Good. I'll start now."

Edward teared up again, as I shook.

"Okay, now I'm ready, so where was I? oh yeah, at the part where I put the daughter in danger."

"The daughter… see, she worked at this place in downtown Washington… I don't know the name… when she was walking home from work one day, I decided I would kidnap her."

Very sensible… I mentally rolled my eyes, I felt bad for this girl… oh, and he mom… at least she knows her mom. I shed another tear, this one, for her.

Okay, I've never been kidnapped so it wasn't me, thank God… wait… the cannibals… but that wasn't four years ago. Besides, four years ago I was pregnant with Nessie…

"I failed this task," Edward looked at me… and I really don't know, I saw something in his eyes, that… that told me… I don't know… maybe I didn't want to let myself know.

I looked straight back at him, trying to convey, in this one, single, glance, that I loved him, and, that there was nothing in this world I wouldn't do for him. That I should've told him a long time ago.

And, something in his eyes, told me that he was trying to keep something from me.

I wondered what it was. Marcus dangled his knife just inches away from my face, acting lackadaisical about my death… I gulped and Edward's body that was shaking froze, his eyes following the knife.

"And, the reason I failed," Marcus looked directly at Edward, almost challenging, and Edward tore his gaze away from me to Marcus. "Was because I let her get away. After I _raped _her." He smiled the whole time he said this, and I screamed, my breath caught in my throat, was he… could he… have…

Edward looked confused, and then… all of a sudden he looked furious. Something in his eyes scared me a little, it was like he lost his spark and replaced it with… anger…

"You bastard!" my breath was coming in pants as Edward shook with fire in his eyes.

Marcus smirked, heavily. I was a bit scared. And I screamed in pain when Marcus pressed the knife to my wrist, slicing a deep cut, and revealing a gash, with blood flooding to the surface of my skin. I threw my head back in pain.

I felt a tear escape my eye as Edward shook, his mouth open a little, as he snarled at Marcus, and at the same time, held regret for hurting me. And sadness… for everything else. My hand struggled to give pressure to my… cut wrist… but I was tightly bound to the chair that was currently cutting off my circulation…

Okay, here, I knew two things.

One- I saw my blood, covering my wrist, and I about fainted.

Two- when Edward got angry… it made me want him even more.

Oh, and three-I really didn't know which one was more disturbing.

My breath came in pants as Marcus laughed and I screamed.

"How could you! I want to leave now! I was… how could?! Edward!"

Edward's whole body was shaking in anger, his fists clenching and unclenching, his eyes almost black with anger.

And if I wasn't so terrified, I would've jumped him, but that's not the situation…

Edward's face went rigid, as he looked at me, and looked at Marcus.

He looked to the knife, then me again, and then took a deep breath, and calmed down a little, still looking lethal, but a tiny bit better.

Anger flashed through his features, and it did mine as well, I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't pissed. But I was scared to death and wanted Edward.

"As I was saying, I raped her," he paused to see if Edward ,moved, he was still as stone, eyes locked on my bloody wrist, and, knowing Edward, he thought it was all his fault. "And I was so caught up in basking in my own pleasure, she ran away."

I was panting as he flashed the knife in front of my face, trying to see if Edward would move.

He didn't.

"My father… well, he did _this,_" he pointed to his face, "To my face and I won't tell you how. But, I've spent four years looking for you, Bella. And I found you."

Edward's lips raised over his teeth.

"In Chicago… it took a while, but my father…" his fist tightened over the knife, "oh well, I found you, how, you ask?"

Silently, yes, I was wondering how the hell he found me.

"It was months ago… I was in Chicago, for a day, with my father."

At the mention of his father he groaned, "And he wanted me to take a quick look around for you. I did as told."

I was shaking and Edward was having trouble not to combust. He was absolutely seething and I was far too scared of the fact that… this… evil monster behind me kidnapped, hurt, and raped me to think about Edward's body.

"Naturally, these things take time… we ended up looking in all of the wrong places, and we were just going to give up for dinner… when we heard a name that flared our curiosity, that name was Bella."

I couldn't think coherently, and was only barely registering what he was saying in my head, while Edward struggled not to attack the… guy… behind me.

I loved him even more for that, you could see that all he wanted to do, it was etched in his features, to attack him. You could see that it was taking over his control.

That it was most important to him right now, but he still put my safety first.

Although, my hand felt like someone covered it in gasoline and lit it on fire, but I'd be damned if I let Edward know how much pain I was really in, he looked miserable enough as it was, but I was sure he could see how much I wanted to scream.

Through the anger in Edwards face, he sent me tender glances, ones that gave away more than I think he wanted me to know, but I don't know what it was yet. I settled for concern and clenched my hands as the pain crept through my wrist again.

Edward let another tear escape at that.

I took in a big breath and Marcus smirked, yet again, at our obvious discomfort.

"So, I knew that the chances of the Bellas being the same was slim to none… I felt… I knew it was you, Bella." He said, like it was supposed to be comforting…

"My father and I searched restlessly, for a long time. I met four men on the side of the road, and resorting to a last option, paid them to help me. Fat wad of good it did me, though…"

I gulped and Edward let out a shaky breath, his eyes still glistened with unshed tears.

"We had help though… the imbeciles… they managed to get themselves killed… by _my _dog… and you!"

He snarled at Edward.

Edward and I both froze, Edward trembled from the need to say something, and my eyes widened then shut tightly as Edward screamed.

"You… you sent _cannibals_ after her?!" after these words flew from Edward's mouth I could almost hear him shouting at himself in his head, and he looked at me with teary, panic filled eyes. I shut my eyes, and held my breath in.

Without the slightest hint of regret, he swiftly bent the knife down to my _other _wrist and made a deep slice that made me scream.

I shook with anger and sadness as tears rolled down my face; I couldn't see well enough to notice Edward's reaction, but the whole room was deathly quiet as I whimpered, it was the only noise I could hear. Marcus didn't seem to notice.

He sighed, "They weren't supposed to try and eat you… I wanted you back to me, safe. I even paid extra for that luxury."

He chuckled menacingly, "I remember that night well." The only thing I could focus on was my wrists, my whole body was shaking, and my loud breaths reverberated through the room as Marcus continued on with his… horrid… tale.

"They said they had found you, purple and shivering next to a heating vent in an alley way. I asked where they put you, and they said they strapped you to a table, I was glad to hear that," why… "and they said they had to go. Little did I know that this… Edward… came to save you…"

I shook, tremulously, as violent pains engulfed my hands and wrists.

"You may ask how I knew? Just so you know, there was a camera in that room… and I searched your photo, Edward. I really didn't know you would've been a very well known and successful doctor."

My head snapped back in pain that I tried to ignore.

"I would have let you off easy, just taking Bella, but you stole Bella, you stole my dog, and you killed my men… I really had no choice."

Pain was mixed with confusion on my face, "I thought-"

"I know, I lied, I know I told you I didn't know why Edward was here, but he's the actual reason you're here… I didn't actually plan on telling you this much."

He paused and I yelped as he fingered my hair, my eyes shut tightly, the last thing I saw was the look of… adoration? Concern? On Edward's face.

"I want them back, Edward, I want Bella, I want my dog!

Edward's lips quivered, but his mouth stayed locked.

Marcus grew exasperated and walked to the door, opening it and throwing the knife outside.

"For God's sake boy! Talk, I'm done!"

But Edward didn't talk, he sprinted over to me, cradling my head in his hands as he kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my chin, basically, everywhere but where I wanted him the most… but this worked too…

"Bella, oh Bella." He kept whispering to me as he smoothed my hair back, his eyes darted to my wrists directly after that.

The blood had dried now, and Edward was just staring at them… thinking of infections probably.

Even in the given situation… I just wished, just once… that he would… do these things out of… love.

But never. Not for me. I thought, without hope. He deserved much better.

Marcus let out a loud cough and Edward untied me, pulled me to him, I winced but said nothing as my wrists bumped again him.

Edward and I gulped.

"So, in summary, I raped you four years ago, let you get away, hired cannibals to find you, let you go again, and here we are, except for this time, I fully intend on getting both Bella and my dog back."

"Bastard." Edward finally realized that he could attack without consequence, but, after hearing this… suck _summary_, decided to just glare, and try to protect me…

"Well, I'm glad you took that well," he smirked and we snarled, "I'll be letting you off to your room now."

My stomach growled, sure, I could deal with the hunger, I'd gone longer, but Edward…

"Can you at the very least feed us?"

He huffed in response. "In an hour or so, okay?"

"Wait, first," Edward said, both rage and confusion coloring his tone, he spoke hesitantly, "Didn't you say… that this was… a mother/daughter story…?" he spoke so slowly, and his grip on me tightened.

I looked to Marcus in confusion.

He stopped at the door, "Oh, yeah," he smirked at us, "I Almost forgot, tomorrow, we will make a video that will go to your mother, and y father can be happy with her," he looked me up and down, "while I have my way with you."

See, Edward and I had different reactions to this.

Me? My whole body froze, my blood, my heart, it all felt cold… and it all… just felt like it stopped…

My mother… the only thing moving on me right now, was the tears, flooding my eyes.

Edward? He let out a roar of a growl, which completely took me off guard… but you could probably judge my reactions to _that _side of him by now…

I was still too numb, I guess you could say, to register any of it in my brain.

Everything was mixed and jumbled together. One big, sticky mess of my thoughts, all clouded by two words.

_My mother._

My knees grew weak, and hadn't been for Edward keeping me stable, through his ragged breath, I would not have made the effort to get back up.

Marcus smirked and left. But that barely registered. The only thing holding me up was the shaky arm, looped through mine.

A recurring thought came, yet again, into my head… but it hit me the hardest this time and it nearly made me collapse.

_My __**mother**__._

**That was actually really emotional for me to write. I really didn't expect to have to put this down, half way through writing, I just felt it… the pain they were both going through.**

**Yes, I actually had to wait an hour before writing again…**

**Ha, and you guys thought my twists were random… see, they all come together somehow, its not just random twists.**

**I **_**do**_** happen to have a story line my readers!**

**Chapter question- DO YOU HAVE A DREAM ABOUT WHERE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD YOU'D LIKE TO GO?? WHERE?? WHY??**

**REVIEW!!!**


	13. Cameras and Chanel?

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay, I seriously have to tell you guys something! You have to read Cullens Read Twilight, Cullens Read New Moon, and Cullens Read Eclipse. All by Choices HP! She updates like, every day, its about the Cullen family finding the Twilight books on their doorstep and reading them. One month before Bella comes! So go read them! They absolutely rock! Anyways… thanks for all of the reviews last chapter, they made me smile!**

**Review of the chapter!!!-**

**Sara McCarty Cullen- you have so many beautiful questions! And on more than one occasion I had to revise my answer… I always say too much when answering reviews…**

**Haha, thanks Sara!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

last chapter-

I was still too numb, I guess you could say, to register any of it in my brain.

Everything was mixed and jumbled together. One big, sticky mess of my thoughts, all clouded by two words.

_My mother._

My knees grew weak, and hadn't been for Edward keeping me stable, through his ragged breath, I would not have made the effort to get back up.

Marcus smirked and left. But that barely registered. The only thing holding me up was the shaky arm, looped through mine.

A recurring thought came, yet again, into my head… but it hit me the hardest this time and it nearly made me collapse.

_My __**mother**__._

This chapter-

E.P.O.V.

I ran my hands through my hair, slouched against the wall of an all too familiar room. I felt my dried tears make my face cold, and I rubbed my eyes.

I honestly _can't_ believe anything that had happened in the last, however many days, was very surreal.

I think, for it to have hit me this hard, meant that I had been in shock for a while, Bella, on the other hand… well… I didn't know how she was, and that killed me. I wanted to be the one in control. To know what would happen. I couldn't do that this time.

Marcus had directed the, ever so friendly, guards to put _us _in the room we had been in.

In truth, I think I had been in denial, because every time Bella got scared, I couldn't protect, and truly, I was useless.

And now, I was in this…room… that Bella wasn't in. It felt empty and deathly quiet without her. Everything did.

It had been about three hours, and I think I have been more worried than any time I've ever been worried…

This was new for me… not that anyone could really have sage advice on how to deal with being separated from the one you _need _to be with, and how to escape the arms of a killer and a thief?

I felt so, so hopeless. Oh, and don't forget useless… Bella could be better off without me here… without me at all.

But I know I wouldn't have the strength to leave her. Ever.

Not only this, but _I _had caused the bloody, deep cuts on her wrists. She wouldn't be in pain if not for me.

_I _was the one who was too wimpy to try and save her while we could.

And, _I _was the one that felt like I would never see her again, never see the look of love in her eyes.

Never be able to tell her that I loved her too.

A sob racked through me. I had failed to protect Bella, the guards wouldn't even let me give her pain meds, she was probably screaming in pain and cowering in a corner.

All because of me.

Never would I be finally able to join together, to make a family, with Renesmee.

I could only ever be thankful thank Alice was there for us, with Nessie, when her parents couldn't be.

And we weren't there. I wanted to kill Marcus.

Bella, Nessie, and I should be happy, we should be ecstatic.

Bella and I... should… well… we should be a couple.

We should all be _happy_.

Marcus and his father hadn't forgotten about Bella. They had been looking for her for four years. And neither of us knew.

I could've done more… but what freaks me out right now, is that if they didn't give up for four years.

They never would.

They wouldn't give up until they were forced to. I let out a shaky breath.

Just like I had forced the… cannibals to give up.

And I had to push my wimpiness away… but I couldn't because I would never get the chance to save her again.

From the moment Bella came to me, my life had been a whirlwind, one I had been happy to go along with, but I thought that all of the death and capture drama was gone.

I was clearly wrong.

We were locked in two separate rooms, scared to death about the man, if you could call him that, that could kill us without a moment's notice.

I was pacing the room by now, the cold, dried tears still on my face, my eyes probably red from the rubbing and my hair in wild disarray.

I felt like I wanted to pull my hair out, I would go through all the pain in the world to have Bella with me, and safe.

It killed me that she was probably worse off, I just wanted her with me, to tell her everything that I had been too scared to do, just days before.

I felt new tears run down the path of my old ones, and I shivered.

I was remembering how our… encounter with Marcus had gone… how Bella had looked at me, with those big, brown, doe eyes of hers.

I had a revelation that she was much stronger than I was… maybe not physically but she faced Marcus, she got cut and barely screamed, and she told me, although I already knew, that she loved me with her eyes while her life was on the line. I was only able to follow her lead.

It both touched me and shocked me… the way she was able to wear her heart on her sleeve, when she had a huge chance of dying.

While all I could do was stand there, listening to this… horrid story about my Bella, watching her get cut, and watching her silently say that it wasn't my fault even though it was, and hearing these bad things, the only things she did was make sure I was aware of the fact that she loved me.

I saw all of that in her eyes, and it was terrifying, how could I ever be good enough for an angel.

That was it. I really couldn't compare to her… she was too perfect, and brave, and strong, and loving.

They, the guards, gave me food about two hours ago, and it wasn't bad, a sandwich… and water. I inquired about Bella but learned nothing from them, they immediately left. They better have fed her.

I couldn't be strong, my stomach was turning, I knew that if I wanted us free, our captors would have to die.

And I would have to be the one to kill them.

My hands clenched and I threw my head back into the wall, not even caring about the pain, instead shouting out profanities.

I kept trying to talk, but my words came out as choked sobs, I didn't know where the hell Bella was. She was probably worse off than I was, as I've been thinking forever…

Tears blurred my vision as I slid down the wall, my arms, idle in front of me. They actually _ached _for the need to have Bella inside of them… looking at me with those doe eyes, trying to hide how much she loved me.

I almost smiled, she thought she had kept it a secret from me, but I knew… and the more I looked at her, the more I saw the trust in her eyes.

Now? I want to kick my ass for not kissing her as soon as I found out…

I guess I was just scared, but I may never see Bella again. Hell, I didn't even know where she was, and that killed me.

I looked to the ground between my knees, and all I saw was white linoleum floor, covered in my tears.

I didn't _want _to see my tears resting between my legs. I wanted Bella there. And she never would be again.

All I could think about were how they were treating her. Was she thinking about me? Was she in too much pain to think at all?

I sighed as I heard the silent plop of my tears hit the floor again.

I wanted Bella, I needed Bella… I wanted to see her again.

But I was being selfish, Bella had just found out that she had met the evil guy who raped her, and is going to make a video to her mother.

Keep in mind that she hadn't seen her parents in years, and probably didn't want her next words to her to be "Hey mom, I was kidnapped."

I sighed. Then I gasped, I realized that Bella probably _did _want to see her mother and father again.

I set my lips in a line and blinked some of my tears away, I would make it my mission to find Bella's parents for her… it was almost Christmas… and what a present that would be.

**A/N- just so you know, I'm doing the time in the present time we're in now, I find it much easier to keep track that way.**

I sunk into the ground again.

Would I even get to be there for Bella when she was going to be forced to make the video?

I sure hope so… for both myself and Bella. And yet, I was supposed to sleep in here tonight, with no worries whatsoever. I mean… as far as I knew… Bella was being tortured right now…

"Damnit!" I had never, ever swore this much, _in my life._

Of course, nothing had ever frustrated me this much… hell, I had even swore in front of Bella.

She looked like I scared her to death… she almost looked, embarrassed. Why, I had no idea, I should be the embarrassed one.

But then again, she got embarrassed a lot. She was a lot of things… and it was amazing how much she had changed until now…

I... I still remember that first day I saw her. I saw a freezing woman, with a young daughter, and my feet moved on their own accord, offering her my help.

I remember how she looked so very reluctant to accept my help, but she didn't accept it for me, she did it for Nessie.

It occurred to me that she was truly selfless. Not one character flaw…

The only thoughts in my head revolved around her. It's like I no longer had the mental capacity to entertain another thought, that didn't include her, for more than a second for two.

I… I couldn't live without her, and I really don't care how cliché and needy that sounds, but that's exactly what I felt.

I eventually grew tired of the tears, and thinking of the times I had with Bella. I yawned, and hoped that Bella might be having a nice night… but I didn't think it was possible for either of us at this point.

I rested my head on the cold wall, and wrapped my arms around myself, pretending Bella could somehow appear in my arms, and somehow fell asleep.

--

I was pushed awake by a guard the next day, my eyes blinked a couple of times, and the guard grumbled at me to stand up.

I shook my head to knock the sleep out of it, and I stood.

"Will I see Bella now?"

The guard smirked, "Yeah, you will… she's on her way to doing her video right now."

My breath stopped, I _would _get to see her again… but I hoped the situation would be less pressing and maddening.

"Lead the way."

He slumped his shoulders and waddled out of the room. I eagerly followed.

He padded his way, too slowly I might add, down the long, pale hallway and I pursed my lips. Could he go any slower? It didn't matter, I would see my Bella.

But, what _condition_ would Bella be in… my hands clenched into fists at the thoughts of what Marcus could have done.

I tried to persuade myself to not over react, to tell myself that she probably had the same night I had.

Not that that was much better… but I just had to convince myself that it was.

The guard suddenly stopped and pointed to each door, silently counting, and I resisted the urge to rip off his slow, little head.

My feet wanted to move but I forced them not to, the small guard approached a door and I followed, I gulped, kind of worried about the condition of my Bella. And wanting her in my arms. I _just _wanted her in my arms, if I ever got to have the luxury of her being at ease near me again, I'd cherish it.

My arms felt empty. I contemplated punching the guard, but then I might not see Bella.

The door he walked to was at the very end of the hall, and I was apprehensive that this may be a trap.

To my surprise, the guard walked in first, gesturing me in with a permanent grimace on his face.

With hesitant steps, I walked forward into a surprisingly warm room. It was brown, with a fireplace and a rug, a long oak table with many place settings. My eyes immediately zeroed in on the large, grand doors located at one side of the room.

My first thought was, a way out.

My second thought, where was Bella? Exasperated that I'd have to wait even more, I turned to glare at the guard, who grunted out something that sounded like 'they'll be there soon.'

But I couldn't be sure. I jumped a little when he resumed his statue position at the doorway.

I gulped, all the possible images of Bella were running through my head so fast, it was giving me a headache.

I paced the room, stopping to tap my foot at times. I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that my head snapped up when I head heavy footsteps enter the room.

What scared me was that they were followed by small stops and muffled words.

Bella.

Her doe like brown eyes were stained with tears, and I could see the streaks of dried tears over her cheeks.

Her mouth was gagged with a rag, and her wrists covered in dried blood. I felt a surge of relief shoot through me, but also anger and rage.

The only thing that stopped be from both ripping his head off and running to her were, you guessed it, the super-sized knife Marcus held carelessly in his hands, while so very close to Bella.

I gulped. I could hear Bella struggling.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Her."

Marcus again smirked. But then his face took on an expression of frustration.

"Well, it's not as much what I did, as how much I _couldn't _do it. The brat stabbed me."

He glared at Bella while I felt pride shoot through me, Bella wasn't hurt. I did, however wonder how Bella knew how to stab someone. It didn't matter, I loved it either way. I loved _her _any way…

"Well, you deserved it."

Marcus mocked me by bringing the knife up to her face, I cringed and held out my hand in regret.

Instead, he cut off her gag, and I sighed, my heart rate finally went down and he stuck the knife in his pocket and pushed Bella roughly towards me.

She almost fell to the ground but I was too fast, I cradled her in my arms as she wrapped her arms around me and cried.

Her face was in my neck and I rubbed at her back, glaring at Marcus. When was he going to let us go.

I stood from my crouched position, Bella still attached to me. I kissed her temples, still glaring at Marcus.

Marcus, in turn, glared at me. "Sit on the chairs."

I, confused, looked around to find a camera set and two chairs in front of it. I only then remember Marcus' plan for today.

I gulped, and, kissing Bella's head once more, set her in the chair, and I hopped up next to her.

I still grabbed her hand, rubbing soothing circles on her palm, being careful of her wrists. She looked straight at me, her eyes holding a fresh batch of tears.

"It's okay." I whispered.

Marcus made a 'hmm' noise and shook his head at us.

"No, you look too happy…"

We both stared at him, incredulous. "Oh, really, we look happy to you?"

Marcus nodded and limped over to us, Bella cringed away, along with me, but I just now noticed the wide gash in Marcus' leg. I squeezed Bella's hand in approval.

"Yeah, well… not _happy,_ just not unhappy enough."

"Despite your current belief, we're not happy."

He smiled/grimaced and raised his hand to his chin. "Hmm… well, what other bad news could I tell you to make you even more upset."

He contemplated that in his head for a moment and nodded to himself, apparently content.

We, however, weren't content. We huffed at his slowness. I wasn't that worried, there wasn't much he could tell us to upset us.

Well… more than we already were… Marcus gave us his evil… grimace/smile again and Bella shivered.

"Ha! How about this: you remember that day when Bella said she had a bad feeling about the garage."

We both nodded, slowly.

"Well, she was right, that was me." Rage shot through me.

"How did you get in my house?!" Bella's voice was very loud and I rejoiced at the fact she was calling it her house.

I nodded fiercely in agreement, though.

Marcus gave us another smile/grimace before answering, "Well, the hospital knew everything about you. Yes, I formulated my plan in your garage. I was going to kidnap Bella, just before you came outside to see if she was alright."

Great, so we were here, Bella was scared, and it actually _was _my fault. Hell, it was my job's fault…

I shook with rage, I wanted to kill him now. From my peripheral vision I saw Bella squirm in her seat while looking at me, she blushed.

To call me confused was an understatement, I let out a low growl when Marcus smirked again and Bella bit her lip.

I stared at her in confusion, she did this every time I got angry, and did she think it was her fault?

I was disappointed in myself for making her feel that way, but pushed it aside and my angry feelings toward Marcus returned.

He went in our house; wait… was Nessie still okay… did he…

"Okay, so in case you forgot, we're making two videos. The first I will give personally to Bella's parents." My breathing grew ragged at the thought, "And the second, I will, again, personally to Edward's family that, thanks to the hospital, I have the information of…"

My eyes widened, for fear of my family.

He smiled/grimaced again and I froze. "How did you even get the hospital to give you the information?"

"Hmm, that receptionist, I promised her a date with you for the information set for… last Saturday, I can't believe you stood her up!" He mocked me and I growled at him, queue Bella's blush, because 'that receptionist' had a crush on me, and I spent years being civil to her, and now it's gone. Marcus…

He smirked, "Bella you'll go first, just read from the teleprompter and I might not kill you today, remember, be sad."

Bella's tears ran down her cheeks and I sighed.

"Start talking when the red light comes on."

Bella looked to me; I guess she wasn't sure what she should do. My eyes flickered to the knife in his belt loop and I nodded to her.

She looked completely torn and I tried to convey to her that it was necessary to do with my eyes; I brought her hand into my lap and held it close to me, still being careful of her wrist.

Bella gasped when the red light went on, she gulped and a new tear found its way to her chin.

She looked at the teleprompter and gulped.

"H-hey mom, I-I've been kidnapped, and I want you to come and get-" Bella's eyes tightened. She spoke fast, "No! don't come! I'm fine, and I'm not kidnapped, okay."

Marcus let out a loud roar and shut off the camera.

"Read it right!" He went up to Bella and slapped her, she looked at him, determination blazing in her eyes, but before she could do anything I socked him straight in the jaw.

The motion hurt my fist but I shook it off, next asking Bella if she was alright, and why she was asking to get slapped.

She just shook her head at me. Marcus got up and his lip was pulled over his teeth, snarling at both of us.

Bella was shaking in her chair, I could tell that she was trying to contain herself, but she was infuriated. Even Marcus could tell and he shrunk away from her a little.

She looked scarier than me or Marcus on our best days. Her eyes were wild, and her breaths, I could barely count them they were going so fast.

She was gripping the sides of her chair. And she was glaring Marcus straight in the eye.

She was _livid._

I would've held her back… but… somehow; I was just as pissed as she was and I didn't care what she did to him frankly.

She slowly stood up from her chair. "Don't you ever, and I mean ever, touch or communicate with my mother."

Marcus stood a couple feet taller than she was, and he pushed her back into her chair. As if saying 'make me.'

I clenched my hands to restrict them. Bella let out a screech and jumped at him.

He looked so surprised at her, and in truth, so was I.

Bella took his arm in between hers and bent it back over his legs, making him cry out. Bella jumped up and kicked his side once before sitting down again.

Marcus sat there, completely stunned, and I smirked at him, I knew how he felt, I had underestimated Bella plenty of times.

Bella huffed as Marcus got up and stared at her. He made a motion to the guards, and they tied us to our chairs without a second thought.

"If you can't play nice, then I won't let you play at all." Bella and I simultaneously growled at him, but it was pointless, considering he ignored us.

I tried to reach out for Bella's hand but I forgot I was tied up with rope, I hated this.

I mean, Bella didn't want _this _reunion with her parents… this was horrible. We would never get out, and now Bella's family had to be involved.

In the worst way possible.

And, Marcus was enjoying every fucking second of it.

Bella's face was an angry red from all of her crying and she was glaring at Marcus, probably wishing he could go die in a hole, similar to my thoughts.

"Now, I'm going to try this one more time. Follow the teleprompter. And if you don't, I won't be so generous, and I'll bring out my knife." Marcus smirked and Bella's and my breath hitched.

Bella looked to me again, and I tried to be sterner in telling her with my eyes that she had to follow directions this time. But, when did Bella ever follow directions?

When the red light went on, Bella opened her more to speak, and both Marcus and I were waiting to hear if she would follow the directions, Marcus for selfish reasons, and me to see if she would get herself hurt.

Bella's mouth closed again, being the defiant girl she is. But, Bella looked at the desperate expression on my face and opened her mouth.

"M-" Bella was cut off by an intensely loud yelp, something loud, and it continued, and it only got louder. I heard little steps.

The yelps were high pitched and coming closer. They were something I recognized very well from my days of dog sitting for… for Alice.

I looked around confused, and my eyes, along with my movements, froze.

"Chanel…"

**I don't know about you, but I've always pictured Alice with a little dog named Chanel…**

**Anyways… thanks for reading, I appreciate every single one of you!**

**Chapter question- CARLISLE, Edward, JASPER, OR EMMETT?**

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**REVIEW!!!**


	14. Losing Hope in Edward and Alice?

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Whoa, chapter 14 already?! I love you guys… you're certainly the best!**

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**Last chapter-**

Bella's mouth closed again, being the defiant girl she is. But, Bella looked at the desperate expression on my face and opened her mouth.

"M-" Bella was cut off by an intensely loud yelp, something loud, and it continued, and it only got louder. I heard little steps.

The yelps were high pitched and coming closer. They were something I recognized very well from my days of dog sitting for… for Alice.

I looked around confused, and my eyes, along with my movements, froze.

"Chanel…"

**This chapter-**

B.P.O.V.

What the hell was that yapping? To be telling the truth I have to say I was thankful, I wouldn't have to make this horrid video for a while now… I wanted to see my parents under different circumstances, not that they wanted to see me…

But it was weirder when Edward said 'Chanel', it was like he knew where and what it was. I heard the noises increase, and something shimmy through the giant doors, revealing some sunlight.

A second later, a tiny, little Chihuahua came bursting through the now wide open double doors. I gasped; I struggled to move but was restricted by the rope.

Why would a dog be here? Was this Chanel? Huh?

"Edward?" I looked at him as the little dog jumped into his lap, wagging its small tail.

Edward looked just as shocked as I was, and Marcus just rolled his eyes and walked forward to the dog, apparently trying to remove him from his sinister plans.

"Come here, little doggie." Marcus said, in an overly enthusiastic voice. Edward smirked, but I didn't know why.

Marcus stepped closer to 'Chanel' and she/he, no, she growled and bit his finger. He jumped back in surprise and yelped like a little girl, I stifled a laugh, but it helped that the current situation was so urgent.

I started to laugh as Marcus' finger started to ooze red; I suddenly loved this dog.

"Damn dog!" Marcus roared and Edward looked perplexed, looking around, I mean, so was I, why the random dog?

Edward's teary eyes suddenly became a little more sparkly and he bit his lip, he looked at me as Marcus tried to use the guard's shirt to wipe the blood. They were arguing. Edward leaned closer to my ear.

"T-" suddenly Edward was cut off by a click-clacking noise. My nose scrunched together in confusion, what now? Not that interruption was unwelcome… it certainly was.

The noise became more pronounced, and I looked to Edward, who looked like a little kid on Christmas, I have to say it was just about the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.

The dog basically assaulted Edward's face with licks and kisses, and I'm not _even_ going to admit to myself that I was jealous of a dog.

Well… I guess I already did…

"Ahem." I heard a dainty voice clear their throat. I gasped and looked up. A tiny girl stood in the doorway, looking like she just got off a runway.

"Alice." I breathed, I blinked a couple of times, and I still couldn't believe my eyes when I looked up again. She was standing there with a devils grin on her face, one hand on her hip, and leaning on her left foot. She was wearing sky high heels, the noise was her.

The dog suddenly jumped off of Edward and sprinted for Alice. I looked to Marcus, who seemed too busy with the blood to notice her or the dog, or the doors.

That seemed farfetched, but hey, was I complaining? No.

My eyes bugged out of my head when I looked behind her. And boy was I astonished…

Behind her, there had to be about 100 police officers. Edward and I looked to each other and were out of breath in our surprise.

And happiness of course.

"Shit!" I recognized Marcus' voice take on an embarrassingly high pitched tone and loud volume.

He looked around quickly and sprinted to the doors at the other side of the room. The police automatically sprinted after him, around tiny Alice, as she skipped over to us.

"Alice, how did-"

She shook it off, "I'll explain later, but let's go, this place is giving me the creeps."

I nodded in agreement, and hissed in pain as Alice tried to untie the rope on my bloody, burning wrists.

Alice got them off, then looked at Edward in disapproval, "You need to fix that later, you know-" she continued chastising him as she untied him, and when she did, he scooped her up, giving her a giant hug, ignoring her complaints.

She giggled and then looked at me. I smiled like a maniac as I, also, picked up her lithe body and twirled it around.

"I love you Alice," I cried into her shoulder, "I-I thought we were going to die…"

She flipped her short hair back, "I know, let's get out of here."

She led the way, dancing along with her Gucci bag. "Chanel!" She called behind her shoulder, and the dog jumped into the designer bag she was sporting.

Edward looked to me, and I didn't even care. I hopped on him, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms on his neck, he gladly caught me, a little off guard, but still.

I hid my face in his neck and he sighed.

He set me down; I tried not to show how much I wanted to stay in his arms.

He took a look around, "Let's go."

I nodded and we walked out of the large, double doors. Alice honked the horn in her Porsche and we hopped in, she swerved her way around the many police cars and drove to the airport I hope...

"Where are we going?"

Alice sighed, "To the airport, to go home, but be my guest if you'd like to stay here…" her tone was sarcastic and I smiled a little. It was nice to be… well… you know, not there…

Home. It never sounded so damn good. Edward was leaning up against the window, and I was on the other side of the back seat, it was nearly painful to stay where I was, and, as always, Edward seemed to read my mind and opened his arms, I blushed and scooted into him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and we heard Alice 'aww' from the front seat, that only made me blush more.

Edward chuckled. It wasn't long until I set my priorities straight.

"Hey, Alice? Where's Nessie…?" Alice almost looked worried to tell me.

My eyes narrowed and I tightened my grip on Edward's arm.

"Don't be mad Bella; I left her with Jasper and Jacob." Alice fidgeted in the driver's seat and I stared at her, perplexed.

"That's fine, thanks." She almost looked shocked, I frowned.

"So, tell us the story, Alice." Edward deviated from the subject and I nodded in agreement towards Alice.

She made a fast turn and in about a minute, we were parked in front of a Duo's.

I looked at Edward and he shrugged, we were kind of hungry…

We all came out of the car and followed Alice inside. She spoke to the hostess.

"Yes, we have reservations for three at 12 o clock." The hostess nodded and walked away, Alice on her tail.

"How did- never mind." I rolled my eyes, it didn't matter how she got reservations here… or when she had the time to make them, Edward and I followed her.

She sat down on one side of the table and motioned Edward and me to sit of the other. Suddenly, she looked all business.

I scooted into the leather booth and Edward came in next to me.

We looked at Alice expectantly.

She took a deep breath. "Jasper and I were watching Love Actually, when you guys called. We almost didn't pick up… but we did. I remember it so clearly, because the relief in Bella's voice… the urgency for me to get Renesmee. It overwhelmed me."

I gulped and she continued, "Something about the way you sounded, it reminded me of the time Edward called when you left, Bella. It scared me. Well, of course we went to your house first, and Nessie and Jacob were sleeping, so I asked Jasper to take them back while I called the police."

Alice was cut off when the waitress showed up, she was pretty, and my eyes automatically flickered to Edward's. He was looking at me.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" My eyes bugged out of my head when she asked me, in a husky voice.

She winked at me and I cringed, gross. Edward stifled a laugh next to me.

"Um… I'll have a Shirley Temple…" Alice ordered the same and Edward had a water.

She walked away and I sat, frozen in my chair.

They both started to laugh.

I blushed, "Anyways," Alice said between giggles, "I called the police, everyone I could… hell, I didn't know where he'd taken you, I called every state in the U.S. to look for you! Little did I know you would be in ARIZONA! Do you know how many places I looked?"

I gasped at that, "I had forgotten we were in Arizona." Apparently, Edward did too.

Alice smiled, "Don't worry; I got us a flight in a couple hours back to Chicago."

We nodded. "So… who found us?"

"Hold on, we'll get there. So, I called every state, it took a whole day to get the thing organized, you guys were gone for a week… so we called everywhere… every single state."

She rolled her eyes, "We should've started with Arizona though… it was kind of odd. Every time we called a department, they laughed at us… it was so weird, and all we said is we were looking for a girl named Isabella Swan and a man named Edward Cullen…"

I was confused, "Why would they laugh."

She gulped, "Every station said you were dead, Bella, that I had no hope of finding you…"

I leaned against my chair as the waitress leaned too far towards me to give me my drink, "Would you like anything to eat?" She asked me, and I nodded impatiently.

"I'll have the filet mignon, medium rare please, with a baked potato."

She smiled, "_anything_ more special I can get you?" She asked me, and I shook my head.

She reluctantly turned to Edward, he smiled and she widened her eyes… see… even Edward could turn on a lesbian…

I sighed, "I'll have the Kobe beef."

She then reluctantly turned to Alice and gasped… really?

"I'll have the Delmonico, just the way you serve it."

She nodded and scurried away, we all smiled.

**A-N- sorry… I was in the biggest steak mood… mmm… I really want some Kobe beef… **

"Wait… I'm confused… why would they say I was dead?"

Alice took a breath, "I don't know Bella, I really have no clue."

Edward frowned, "Why would they say that…" I spoke to myself this time, and, them, probably sensing this, didn't give me a reply.

"To be exact, they said 'Swan._ As in Bella _Swan_? You're crazy kid, go punk someone else, she's dead.'"_

We had spent the rest of dinner in silence, none of us ended up eating more than half of our dinners.

Alice told us the story of how she got here, but nothing she said made me feel safe. I was putting myself in danger, but not only myself, Edward too.

I frowned at the leather seat in Alice's car. We were driving to the airport right now, and no one was talking, it was a sickly silence. Yes, Marcus was jailed but, the feeling of death lurked in the air.

Like even though… even though Marcus was gone, things still didn't make sense, like we only put together half of the puzzle.

Like it wasn't the worst part and there was still more.

--

We got there quickly; I took a shaky breath and looked outside. It was dark out, and lights were flashing everywhere. It didn't take long for me to realize that Edward was outside of my door.

I sighed as Edward opened up my door and helped me out, I winced as he touched my wrists and he mumbled an apology, guiding me inside while Alice parked.

We walked inside and sat down, waiting for Alice.

"Edward…"

His head snapped up to mine and he urged me on quietly.

"Um… why do you think that…?"

He seemed to catch on. "Bella, I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding, I mean… it's not like the police have heard of you before, I mean, not every police station."

I thought about that, "Well they must… Alice must have described me…"

Alice walked up then, with three tickets in her hand. My eyes flickered to the long, long line of people waiting for tickets.

I then looked to the nerdy boy at the front of the line, handing out the tickets, and laughed.

Edward quietly told me 'later' and we all followed Alice for the 7 o clock flight as our tickets read.

To Chicago.

I looked at the tickets as we sat down at our gate.

Edward Cullen- A-34, Bella Swan- A-35, Alice Hale- A-1.

I looked at Alice questioningly, she shrugged. "I thought I'd let you guys sort things out… besides… I wanted first class."

We laughed lightly at Alice. But Alice was blushing, "Besides… I was going to call Jasper."

Aw. I envied her, not because of Jasper, but because she got to be intimate with him, while I couldn't be with Edward.

Not that I should care, caring won't change anything. I yawned as they called for first class, Alice hopped up and we followed when they called for coach.

When we were seated, Edward looked at me, "Okay, so, why are you so worried about the police thing. It's not like they would all know who you were."

Alice's imitation played in my head, _"_Swan._ As in Bella _Swan_? You're crazy kid, go punk someone else, she's dead."_

I shivered. "Edward. I'm sorry, but is it so stupid of me to want to know why every police station in America knows who I am?"

"Touché, but how do you know it was you they were talking about?"

"Alice described me… it's not there's some missing Bella Swan that everyone thinks is dead. Besides, who would care enough about me to notify the whole U.S.?"

"Hey," Edward said softly, "I would, I wouldn't even stop there." I smiled weakly up at him.

Edward did look perplexed though, "How would you even get in contact with all of the stations?"

**A-N- I know it's possible to do, but it doesn't help me… so shush… add in the magic again…**

I sighed, "I don't know."

"It has to have been a different Bella Swan… I mean, it… doesn't make sense."

I sat in my chair as the captain announced take off.

Edward looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well… we'll figure it out, Bella, we will."

He looked at me encouragingly and I smiled. "I sure do hope so."

He sighed and I felt myself being lifted off of the ground… Chicago here we come.

He looked scared for a second, and bit his lip, that was the look he had when he was trying to figure out how to word something.

"Just ask Edward." He looked at me through his lashes and I melted.

"W-well… I was thinking when we were… there." My breath hitched as I sensed his nerves.

Yes, I even found that attractive… maybe I'm just obsessed.

"Yeah?"

"Um… I was thinking that maybe you might want to…" He said the last part really fast, "Go find your parents when we get home…"

My eyes widened at that and he looked regretful, "N-no… it's okay… but… if they haven't looked for me, then they probably don't want me back in their life."

Edward gasped, "Don't ever say that Bella… think about it this way, if Nessie went away for four years, would you care what she was doing? Wouldn't you just want her back?"

"I-I don't know…"

Edward crossed his arms, "You know the answer to that, Bella."

And it was true, I did. But what if the same rule didn't apply to my… parents.

The rest of the plane ride, much like the car, was spent in silence.

--

After we dealt with the whole mess of getting out of the plane and the airport Alice looked like a love sick 12 year old.

Thinking of Jasper no doubt… I wanted to be able to think about Edward that way.

But I couldn't.

On the way back home, we all agreed that we would go see Nessie tomorrow, since it was so late, and she and Jasper would take care of Jacob too.

Besides, Alice said that Jasper said that he was distracting them with Disney movies and popcorn.

On the ride home, we told Alice what had happened, who Marcus was, and what he did, and she was livid, glaring at the windshield.

We made it home pretty slowly, or maybe I was too anxious.

We said our goodbyes and Alice drove off, I looked at the house, part in shock and part in relief.

My eyes flickered to the garage, then up to Edward. "Come on." Edward slung his arm around me and unlocked the door, leading us in.

"What about the-" and, taking the question out of my mind, he spoke.

"I'll go check out the garage and the rest of the house." I smiled thankfully at him, but the idea of being alone didn't sound good.

"Stay on the couch, and I'll be done in a few." He smiled at me and disappeared into the garage.

I gulped. I waited in agony for about ten minutes and decided to go check it out.

I got up and walked to the garage, I opened the door and I screamed.

A dark figure was walking towards me, I screamed again until the figure turned on the lights and I found… Edward.

Apparently, embarrassment is my middle name, "Didn't I tell you to stay on the couch?"

I blushed. "Well, the garage is clean; I'll check upstairs, can you stay where you are this time?"

I nodded, still recovering from my embarrassment.

I waited patiently this time and Edward came down five minutes later, "It's all good."

I smiled, relieved, I felt like I could finally relax.

Edward walked up to me, about a half a foot away, and my heart rate sped up, my breath hitched as he lifted me up onto the counter right next to the sink, why, I don't know.

But I learned to trust him. "Do your wrists hurt still?" He looked concerned as he picked up my wrists.

They were pretty deep cuts, and I couldn't lie, so I nodded a little.

He sighed, "I'm sorry."

I laughed, "For what? Reacting the way a normal human should? That's hardly something to apologize for." I reached my left hand up and patted his head; he chuckled and walked to a cabinet for medicine.

He came back with a large whit basket, filled with doctor stuff, I laughed at my incredible terminology…

"They won't need stitches, but I'll have to wrap them up… this is going to hurt."

I tightened my eyes, Edward reached in the basket and pulled out a disinfectant can, I leaned my head on his shoulder and winced and groaned as he sprayed the sticky liquid that stung onto my cuts.

I whimpered against his shoulder and he tried to calm me with soft words as he tried to mop up the dried blood.

I tightened my hands into fists as he wrapped loose fabric over my wounds.

It felt like liquid fire and I slowly opened my eyes, Edward was rubbing my back, "See, that wasn't so bad."

He smiled at me and my eyes started to tear up, this _hurt _really bad.

"Hey, it's okay…" Edward reached into the basket and grabbed some aspirin, he filled up some water and I took the pills, and chugged the whole glass of water.

Of course, I was a little too distracted by Edward holding a glass to my lips to realize when to stop… my wrists hurt too much to do it myself.

He put the glass back down and wiped away my tears. I, gingerly, wrapped my arms around him and hugged him, "Thanks."

I felt him smile against my shoulder, "Your welcome."

His hand stroked my hair and I sighed, see, I wanted him to do _this _out of love, not pain…

It made me think of that time in the big, white room when I _thought _he was going to kiss me but just mumbled something about later instead. It really hurt me, and now I expect it.

"So," Edward said as he pulled back slowly, "What do you say about visiting your parents?"

I sighed and shut my eyes, "I'll only be okay if your there."

He lifted my chin with one of his fingers, "Then I'll be there, but I really do think you need this, Bella."

His bright green eyes were piercing mine and I just nodded like an idiot. He chuckled, as if he read my thoughts.

"What if they don't…" he looked frustrated.

"How many times do I have to say this before you finally understand that your parents will want you? It's completely exasperating how thick your head is." He said disapprovingly to me.

I tilted my head down, now staring at my lap, "Sorry… it's just that…"

His finger tilted my head back up, "I know what you think Bella. And I know you're wrong, I mean, you seem to think that I don't-" he sighed, "Never mind… I'll elaborate more on that later, but Bella, your mind is set in a place where you think no one wants you."

I nodded glumly and he groaned.

"Let me just say that you're wrong." I looked up at him in confusion, how could that be true, I mean… look what I had done with my life… who would want that…

Edward's hand tilted my head back up and his eyes looked compassionate now.

You see, this was exactly the kind of time when I wanted Edward to kiss me, and he never did.

For me, it was like putting a warm brownie in front of a fat kid.

I was the fat kid, and Edward was the brownie. In all seriousness, I have amazing control.

I felt Edward's breathe on my face and I felt my stomach flipping around. The pad of his thumb traced over my cheeks as his eyes were locked in mine, occasionally flickering down.

I don't think I had taken a breathe in at least a minute.

_Don't get carried away, Bella…_ I mentally chastised myself, but I don't think I could help it.

The strong desire to kiss him was too much… and the fact that his thumb was stroking my cheek, along with his breathe on my face, and him being so, so close, it was making me crazy.

He shook his head a little when I let a yawn out, he slowly leaned up and kissed my forehead, he hesitated before backing away.

"You should go to sleep now. Come and get me if you need anything." He said to me, and he sincerely meant it, though I was still a little worried about being alone.

"Remember, anything, even if you think the reason is stupid," he paused, "which it never will be. Actually, come and get me even if you just want to." He smiled, and he looked a little hopeful.

I struggled to try to comprehend what that meant… and he backed away and went upstairs.

I heard the familiar creak of his door closing and I sighed, still situated on the counter top.

Upset, I slid off the counter and shut the lights off, dragging my feet up the stairs.

_See Bella, don't get carried away, he doesn't want you that way. The feeling isn't mutual._

**Oh my, I know what you're thinking, sad huh? I spent a lot of time on the ending… and I hope you liked it.**

**I also know you're wondering why Bella is so stupid, and I sometimes struggle to make her sound stupid, with lines like "I struggled to try to comprehend what that meant." When every other person in the world understood it.**

**It's just how it is… ha-ha. Thanks for reading! Oh by the way, if you can't review, because I took the a-ns down, just pm me, I still wanna know what you think!**

**Chapter question- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD INVOLVING CHOCOLATE?**

**REVIEW!!! OR P.M. IF YOU AREN'T ABLE… REVIEW!!!**


	15. Was I Ready For This? No

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Hey, wonderful readers! You gave me some awesome ideas to make a dessert for me and my sister! It was yummy, we ended up going with Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ben and Jerry's so thanks! You know who you are… haha.**

**I want to give a shout out to my new readers! I'm glad I can satisfy you. First kiss soon! And I wrote and re-wrote it tons of times, so you better like it, haha, just kidding but I did write it a lot…**

**For those who aren't able to review due to me taking down the annoying a-n's, P.M. me, I still love to know what you're thinking, and I love all forms of communication so that works too. but you'll be able to review by chapter 17 so it won't last long.**

**Reviewer(s) of the chapter!!!-**

**Azu- you haven't reviewed in forever, I was wondering if you dropped off the face of the earth! Haha love you and it made me laugh!**

**Angel27eyes- you couldn't review, but you P.M.'d me, and so it was still a review ;) I know, I always imagined Alice walking in like that, I had imagined it that way since I started the story!**

**LoriVampp- I know, the big first kiss will come soon! I promise.**

**Mdf- you reviewed some of my chapters, and I was flattered! Thanks!**

**Ladyidori- haha, she's a certified chocoholic, I liked that terminology…**

**Whoa, okay, I mentioned too many of you… sorry…**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

last chapter-

"You should go to sleep now. Come and get me if you need anything." He said to me, and he sincerely meant it, though I was still a little worried about being alone.

"Remember, anything, even if you think the reason is stupid," he paused, "which it never will be. Actually, come and get me even if you just want to." He smiled, and he looked a little hopeful.

I struggled to try to comprehend what that meant… and he backed away and went upstairs.

I heard the familiar creak of his door closing and I sighed, still situated on the counter top.

Upset, I slid off the counter and shut the lights off, dragging my feet up the stairs.

_See Bella, don't get carried away, he doesn't want you that way. The feeling isn't mutual._

This chapter-

B.P.O.V.

I sighed as I tossed and turned in my bed, it felt cold, even though I was all huddled up into my covers. I snapped my head in the direction of the clock, and it read 1 a.m. I groaned and smashed my head into my pillow.

I stayed in that position for about a minute, before I fisted my hands into my sheets and my back popped up, so I was sitting up in the dark. I sighed, and ran my hands over my face, somewhat harshly I might add and I pulled the pulley on the lamp, lighting up the room.

Maybe I was suffering from insomnia. Yeah, that was it… or I had some severe mental condition that only crazy people, like myself, endure… both were likely, it really could be either…

I mentally rolled my eyes.

I paced the room impatiently, between my now empty bed and the door to the hallway.

My lips tingled from biting them so much, and when I looked in the mirror, they were swollen and red.

I guess you could say that 10% of why I was up, is because of my parents… I was misleading Edward, I probably wasn't going to go… he thought my parents wanted me, when if you put a poll up on the internet, everyone would agree with me.

And, 90% of the reason for my… odd sleeping patterns… was because of the incredibly beautiful, sleeping man in just the other room.

And what I was thinking was what he was sleeping in… I laughed, if Edward could read my vulgar thoughts, he wouldn't be so forgiving…

Was he a boxer guy or a brief guy… yum… Edward in either of those… I smiled but then shook my head.

Well… Edward said I could go and get him if I wanted to… so… would he mind too much if I took him up on that?

I sprinted to the bathroom and thoroughly brushed my teeth. I looked myself in the mirror, tried to brush my hair, but gave up.

I couldn't do anything to look pretty in front of him. But I tried, I should get brownie points for that, right?

Maybe not… maybe I should get points taken away for wishful thinking…

I sighed as I exited the bathroom and walked to the door. I gripped the metal on the handle and I shivered from the cold.

I swung the door open and looked at Edward's door. It was closed but I saw a light through the bottom of the door.

I took in a breath as I looked down at my camisole and sweats. Wow, I could've made more of an effort, but why get more points taken away?

I walked timidly to his door and took another breath in. My hand probably went from my side to the door a thousand times.

I huffed at my cowardly ways and turned away.

"Bella?" Edward's unmistakable angelic voice called from his door, he sounded sort of amused, like he had been watching me the whole time I was standing here like a pathetic loser...

"Damnit…" I whispered to myself before turning to his door, "Y-yeah?" there wasn't any turning back, now. I laughed at myself, I sounded like I was walking into a pit of lions… which… in a way, I felt like I was.

I heard his quiet laugh, "You can come in you know." I could tell he was smiling just from his voice.

I opened the door slowly, biting my lip, and gasped, blushing.

Edward was wearing sweats… but no shirt, and not that I wasn't familiar to him without a shirt, but Edward shirtless just wasn't something you got used to, or wanted to… it also didn't help that he was on his bed, laying there like a sideways, and more gorgeous, version of Michael Angelo's David…

He smiled at me and patted the space next to him, scooting over so I could lie down too.

I bit my lip and tentatively walked up to him, and sat on the end of the bed, I could allow myself that… I wouldn't fling myself at him if I was just right here…

Couldn't get too close, because I knew I would attack him if I did. I looked at him, and he rolled his eyes, and, it was kind of frustrating, but he knew where I wanted to be… am I really that predictable?

He sat up, slowly, and reached out and grabbed my hips, pulling me to sit across from him.

He looked at me expectantly, and I sighed, "I… I don't really know why I came… I just couldn't sleep."

I blushed, knowing this wasn't the real reason, and by the look on his face, he knew that too.

"Really?" he sighed, looking thoroughly disappointed. He spoke the next part slowly, "How long do I have to wait before you tell me." His hand rose and swept a piece of hair behind my ear, I leaned into his hand and the pad of his thumb stroked my cheek for a while.

He dropped his hand and I sighed, finally comprehending what he meant, "W-what do you mean? Waiting for me to tell you what?"

He looked at me, almost pleading, then sighed and smiled.

"Bella, when you can answer that yourself, then you'll be ready. But I can't rush this along, I'll wait for you forever, Bella. But don't wait too long."

He smiled glumly, and I stared at him perplexed.

"Edward, what does that mean?" He sighed and looked up at me sadly, and patted my hand lightly.

"Sadly, I have to wait for you to tell me." I stared at him, confused, I wanted to know what I did to upset him.

What did he have to wait for? What was I talking about…?

What is it that I have to find out? What is it that I have to tell him, I know what I _wanted _to tell him, but I knew the feelings weren't mutual so I just had to live with that… but what did he want me to tell him?

For a moment, that distracted me from him. But I jolted upright when Edward's loud ring tone went off.

He winced as the loud sound came through but hesitantly picked it up. "Hello?"

His face went soft as he got up and motioned me to go with him, "Okay Alice, we'll be right there."

He hung up the phone and looked at me while pulling on a shirt, I tried not to show my disappointment.

"Nessie needs us." I was immediately up, she was the only one that could get me to leave. "Is she hurt?"

He shook his head, thankfully.

"No, Alice just said she's crying and wants her parents." He paused as he said the last words, gauging my reaction, but I just smiled and nodded.

He let out a breath and smiled back.

Did he think that I was still apprehensive about calling him her father? I frowned at his uncertainty.

We got to Alice's house in record time, needing to be with Nessie. Alice eagerly opened the door to us, a crying child in her arms.

"Daddy! Mamma!" I picked her up and hugged her tightly, "I love you, baby." She grabbed onto my hair for dear life and I soothed her a little.

She sniffled, "I love you too." I hugged her once more before handing her to Edward, who hugged her just as tightly as I did.

I eagerly looked at the beautiful picture of Edward and Nessie. I wish we had met Edward a long time ago.

In the next moment Jacob came running up to us, and I gave him a pet before Alice pulled me to the side of the kitchen, where Jasper was trying to get Nessie's things together.

Alice looked at me, "Alice, thank you so much for-"

She shook her head, "Later. But I had to get you over here. I was watching you and Edward, and Bella… my brother is in love with you. You can see it in his eyes, Bella, and I know you feel the same way."

I smiled sadly, both shocked and sad, "You're observant, but you only got half of it right, Alice, I'm the one in love with him, not the other way around."

How I wished she was right, though…

She huffed, "Bella, I'm never wrong, you should trust me, I know what's best for my brother, and you're what's best for him. You should tell him."

"Alice… thanks for trying to help, but he deserves better."

She huffed again, "Bella, look." She spun me around to look at Edward. He was telling Nessie something, and she was listening with eager ears, he hugged her again.

"Bella, he's basically the father of your child, he wouldn't do that for just anyone."

I shuffled my feet, "I don't think you're giving him enough credit."

She laughed, "And I think you're giving him too much. Just think about it, okay?"

I looked to Alice, there were so many things I envied about her, she was carefree, in love, and so kind.

Right now, I didn't feel like any of those things. Especially because my ego was kind of fragile right now, well, yours would be too if you hadn't seen your parents in years and was just persuaded to visit them.

I don't even want to begin to think about what they must think of me.

"Sure Alice… I'll think about it, but just know you're probably wrong."

Alice huffed, "I can't believe you are doubting the mad skills of someone like _me_!" She said, with a giant smile on his face.

I grinned, you can't help but love Alice, it was impossible to be negative around her… she almost made me forget about Edward. But almosts and maybes only count in horse shoes and hand grenades.

I looked to Edward again, he was holding Nessie and wiping her tears away and whispering happy things in her ears. I couldn't be luckier, Edward was all I could ever dream of having as a father figure for her…

In other ways, I wasn't so lucky, like the fact that I was in love with him. Hey, maybe Alice was right, maybe he was in love with me…

_Yeah_, I thought sarcastically, _and your parents want you back, right at the very same time you invented cheese…_

How many happy endings could a person ask for, though? I already had more than my fair share.

I smiled faintly as I watched Nessie fall asleep on his shoulder, and the look of adoration in his eyes was so evident. You could see that he was truly proud to be her father, and I should be happy. But since I'm so selfish, I couldn't just be happy with what I was given…

I thought about that for a while, and was kind of shocked at my attitude, as if my chances with him weren't low enough, my attitude was making it worse, why would Edward love someone so dismal?

I wasn't even fighting for him! I'd never get him… but… I'll always regret doing nothing.

That's it. My mind was set, today, I would reveal myself to Edward, not matter what the consequence was.

Edward walked over to us, "Bella, you ready to go?" I nodded as he hugged Alice good-bye and said thank you, and I took Nessie back into my arms. Edward guided us out of the doors and I looked back at Alice and Jasper, happy as can be.

Today, that would be me and Edward… after I got some sleep, we all needed it.

--

I slept half way through the afternoon, man, I hadn't slept well in days, and I had to admit it felt amazing.

It was 3:30 right now, and I was in my bed, holding my daughter in my arms. Well… today was the day… I would tell Edward… after we had dinner, of course. We all needed it.

I brushed my teeth and Nessie, hers, and we went to Edward's room, Nessie wanted to see if he was awake. He wasn't there, he must've been downstairs.

Nessie and I walked down slowly and saw Edward watching some TV, probably waiting for Nessie to wake up.

Nessie ran and jumped on him, giggling as he feigned being shocked, after a moment he smiled as hugged her, and I felt out of place.

As if, again, reading my thoughts, he looked at me, and then held out his other arm out for me, and Nessie did too.

"Group hug!" Nessie shouted and I joined in. We stayed there for about ten minutes until Nessie announced that she was hungry.

Edward ended up making pancakes, with chocolate of course, and Nessie had chocolate all over her face.

"Edward, go get your camera." I whispered to him, and he nodded in agreement as he left the room, I put Nessie on my lap, loving all the chocolate on her face.

Edward walked back in with a pink camera, I looked at him questioningly, "Oh, you hush, I'm lucky Alice didn't make this whole house pink," I laughed, "Everybody say cheese!"

Edward set the timer and ran to hug us from behind, and on perfect timing, the camera clicked.

Nessie laughed and we laughed right along with her, then she proceeded to wipe it off of her face, only managing to smear it around a bit.

I laughed, "Okay honey, how about we go get you cleaned up?" I smiled at her and she leapt into my arms.

"M'kay Mamma." I took her to the bathroom, giving Edward one last longing look. I sighed as I washed her face.

"Mamma?"

"Yeah, darling?" it was so cute, she looked all business, the look didn't belong on her naturally bubbly face.

"Why don't you look happy?" I was bewildered but I still brought up the warm cloth to her cheek.

"Of course I'm happy." I smiled at her.

She huffed, "Yeah, but when you look at Daddy you look sad."

I forced a laugh, "Honey, I am very, very happy, okay?"

She looked unwilling, but she nodded. She hopped off of the sink and led the way back to the kitchen… was I really that noticeable?

If Nessie noticed it, does that mean Edward knew too? No… he wouldn't know, however, it'd make my job tons easier.

"Mamma? Daddy? Can I go watch a movie with Jacob in my room?" Both Edward and I smiled at her, "Which movie?"

"um… hmm… Sleeping Beauty?"

We nodded and she took off, Jake right behind her.

"What's wrong, Bella?" I kept my eyes on the floor, already expecting this question.

"Um… nothing?" My horrid attempt at lying didn't fool him.

Edward chuckled and made a 'hmm' sound, pulling me in front of him, his arms around my waist, looking me straight in the eye.

"You do know what a horrible liar you are, right?" He chuckled as I blushed against him.

I was about to make up some lame excuse, but Alice's voice rang loudly in my head, could she have been right?

There was only one way to find out… but what if she was terribly wrong, my whole life would fall apart… again.

I took a loud gulp, "U-Uh… O-okay…um… Edward… I have something to tell you."

I tried to avert my eyes, but his own eyes kept enticing me to look straight at him. He looked eager.

"Tell me, Bella." I bit my lip… I couldn't do this…

Maybe… I really didn't know…

"Um… well… Edward." He nodded at me enthusiastically.

Let's face it, he didn't want to hear what I was going to tell him. I roughly pushed away from him, dejected, the only scenario where I would get Edward was in a fairytale.

I ran upstairs like the massive coward I was, and maybe it was my imagination, but I thought I heard Edward say "patience" to himself.

I'm such a loser… why would I even try to think that I had a chance with him? I glumly sat down next to Nessie and Jacob, only pretending to watch Sleeping Beauty.

I looked to Nessie, she was enchanted by the movie, you could see it on her face, as Jacob was curled up at her feet.

What that must be like!- to be so carefree… I wouldn't know, I wouldn't be until Edward loved me.

Which, the chances of were zero to none. So… no chance of happiness for me… I would have to live with that.

So, that's it? I wouldn't ever get to be happy? My chances were all gone? Would my decision make Edward happy? What _was _my decision?

I've decided on one thing. Life isn't fair.

--

Nessie ended up falling asleep half way through the movie, so I put her to bed, and Jacob was right there next to her.

Me? I was sitting in a corner of the room, soaking in my failures and miseries. I gently laid my head onto the wall, as not to wake up Nessie. I was silently crying, my silent tears staining my cheeks red.

I let out a shaky breathe as I stared down at my hands, twirling a lock of my hair.

I had the crazy sense of déjà vu, this is what I had been like when I was holding a leaf on a park bench, thinking about Edward… except I was a lot warmer…

I felt a lot of regret and sadness on that day, just like what I was feeling right now…

I thought back to that time, when I felt sadness and regret for what I had done, I changed it, and when Edward had rescued me, I smashed my guard to pieces.

I smashed my guard to pieces and never saw it again, and everyone was happier that way… I felt like a huge weight was being lifted from my shoulders.

Would right now be an exception? Would I just throw away my happiness to protect myself from embarrassment?

Would it be worth it? Would I be happy?

All of these questions were swirling in my head, and I closed my eyes to think for a minute.

When this happened last time, I followed my heart and I was happy.

Would the outcome of this make me happy? There was no way to know for sure, but Edward was a nice person, he wouldn't make fun of me.

I wanted this heavy weight off of my shoulders, and… as much as I hated to admit it, I had to follow my heart and tell Edward before I could get rid of it.

A new tear fell from my eye, representing the worst case scenario, and a small smile appeared with it, representing the best possible outcome.

But I couldn't bring myself to be stupid enough to believe that the latter option was going to happen.

Before I could change my mind, I landed on option 1, and yet again, ruined any chance of telling Edward.

I sighed and walked down stairs to get a brownie, maybe chocolate could get my mind off of my completely cowardly ways.

I took a bite into my brownie, and mumbled to myself how stupid I was.

"I don't think you're stupid, a little crazy sometimes, but not stupid."

I spun around to see Edward, in all of his gorgeousness, leaning against the fridge, with a small smile on his face, looking like he just jumped out of a magazine in sweats and a t shirt.

"E-Edward… um…" he smiled at my shocked tone, but then he looked at me, and was apparently disappointed in something.

See, it was bound to happen… he brought his hands up to wipe away my dried tears. He grabbed my hips and placed me on the counter before thoroughly wiping my cheeks clean.

"um… thanks." He smiled sadly at me, and then kissed the spots where my tears just were.

I sighed, completely struck dumb by him.

"Bella. Why were you crying?"

"Um… I was… just thinking about Marcus…" He looked angry for a second, but then looked soft.

"Bella, if you ever get upset about him, come and tell me, alright?" I nodded and he paused, "Was that all?" he asked, sounding hopeful and I nodded.

He sighed and nodded, stroked my cheek once more and strode towards the stairs.

"Goodnight Bella." He said as he took the first step.

I repeated his goodnight as he took the second step.

I spoke, probably too low for him to hear. "By the way, I'm in love with you." I said to no one as I chomped on another bite of brownie, glaring at the reflection in the stainless steel.

Suddenly I heard a startled gasp as Edward reappeared at the bottom of the stairs.

He had heard me.

***smiles evilly* their first kiss is in my hands now… ha-ha! Don't worry, I've got it covered ;)**

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	16. FINALLY!

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

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**VOTE FORE PEDRO-**

**Last chapter-**

"Bella. Why were you crying?"

"Um… I was… just thinking about Marcus…" He looked angry for a second, but then looked soft.

"Bella, if you ever get upset about him, come and tell me, alright?" I nodded and he paused, "Was that all?" he asked, sounding hopeful and I nodded.

He sighed and nodded, stroked my cheek once more and strode towards the stairs.

"Goodnight Bella." He said as he took the first step.

I repeated his goodnight as he took the second step.

I spoke, probably too low for him to hear. "By the way, I'm in love with you." I said to no one as I chomped on another bite of brownie, glaring at the reflection in the stainless steel.

Suddenly I heard a startled gasp as Edward reappeared at the bottom of the stairs.

He had heard me.

**This chapter-**

Edward's eyes were wild, a million different emotions going every which way, just like his hair. He was gripping and releasing the wood paneling on the corner of the wall, his fingers drumming on the sides. His breaths were slow, and his eyes, judging, shocked and confidant.

His adam's apple was bobbing up and down as he gulped countless times. His feet were planted in their position on the floor, and his wild eyes still zeroed in on me. He seemed to be deciding on something.

Shit. I averted my eyes, to anywhere but him… he heard me, he knew, there wasn't a way he could be happy with me right now. He was probably pissed.

"D-did you forget something?" Maybe I could play this off as nothing. From the look on his face, I couldn't.

He looked surprised to hear my voice, and he smirked when it broke, giving myself away.

Maybe I could tell him that I was saying a line from Romeo and Juliet? No, then he would ship me off to some mental hospital.

"No." His voice was sure and firm, his eyes pressing me to say something.

Damn.

"Um… is something wrong?" I can't believe I was still trying to fix this… he quirked an eyebrow at me, and nodded his head the slightest bit, he looked perfectly amused.

While, I, on the other hand, was completely mortified and embarrassed, and upset. If he was going to put me down, he should just do it already.

"No." He shook his head slowly, his eyes piercing mine, I stumbled in the spot I was in, and gripped the counter for support, holding my shaky self up by my hand, my shaking hand.

I sighed, trying to hold off my rejection. He gripped the paneling firmly and pushed away from the stairs and the wall, walking towards me slowly. I gulped.

His footsteps echoed the room as he closed most of the distance between us. My eyes became wide as he leaned on the counter, opposite of me, his eyebrows raised; his body twisted in a position of pure confidence and cockiness.

Is feet were crossed, and one of his arms on the counter, angling his body towards me, and I moved my other hand to the counter, not able to rely on one hand anymore. My eyes were wide as saucers as my knees gave into the shaking, and I would've fallen to the floor if not for Edward's arm snaking around my back at the last second.

He slowly lifted me back up, with only the strength of his arm, and my body slid up his the entire way, I was panting as his intense eyes searched mine, my hands limp on his chest.

My last lame attempt: "Did you come back for a brownie?" I asked in a hopeful voice and he scoffed at me, he took his gentle, but muscular arm away and I forced myself to back away.

It was worth a try…

"Can you repeat what you just said, Bella?"

I stuttered, "D-did you c-come back f-for a brownie?"

He sighed, exasperated, "Before that."

"Um is something wrong?" He laughed at me, incredulous, as I repeated everything I'd said that night, except for one thing…

"Just a bit before that, Bella." He looked annoyed. So be it.

"Did you forget something?" I asked again, holding off the answer he was looking for.

He chuckled, "Before that, Bella."

Well, shit. My thoughts went in different directions.

"Goodnight, Edward?" I asked, making this difficult.

"After that, Bella." His annoyed voice said, he moved to stand opposite of me, and when my eyes became teary with nervousness, his face softened.

When he noticed my silence, he walked three feet forward, now half a foot away from me. He leaned his hands on either side of me, bringing his face forward slightly, I felt his breath fan across my face again.

I remained silent, except for my embarrassingly loud breaths, and his nose barely touched mine.

His lips were _so_ close, I could barely contain myself. My eyes flickered down to his lips. They were parted and he licked them. I wanted to do that.

I, without thinking, licked my lips, and accidentally flicked my tongue across his warm lips. I quickly brought my tongue back into my mouth, swirling his taste around my mouth.

"Mmm." I moaned a little, his taste was_ amazing_, it was sexy and amazing and _him_. There wasn't a way to describe it… he tasted like peppermint and cinnamon sticks and sex.

I diverted my attention away from his warm taste and looked back at him, I was shocked as the color of his eyes was almost _black_ and his jaw slightly slacked. My eyes flickered down to his lips, where you could see the wet trail my tongue left behind, and I felt a coiling in my lower stomach, I did that.

I'm sure my expression matched his.

This was torture, _pure _torture. He was so close, I could smell him… mmm.

I looked into his eyes, and a weird, fiery feeling came in strong at the bottom of my stomach. I raised my hands up and roughly fisted my hands in his hair, tugging on the ends, not moving any other part of my body.

I smacked my lips together, "I said, By the way, I'm in love with you." I crashed my lips to his, using my hands in his hair, in a desperate attempt at soothing the fire in me. He let out a loud groan, and, in surprise his hand flew to my back, his other to the counter. His hand tightened on my back, his lips frozen.

I moaned as he returned my kiss, with equal vigor, his hands were knotted in my hair, one of his hands rested on the back of my neck, moving my head to get better angles to hit the spots where it felt the best, which I had to admit were a lot.

He leaned me over the counter, not breaking our desperate kiss.

I moaned as I felt his tongue trace the shape of my lips, and I immediately opened my mouth, making embarrassing mewling noises as he gave every indent of my mouth special treatment.

I tugged at his smooth bronze hair, trying to get him closer, somehow. I pressed my body flush against his and I moaned as his fingers traced random patterns on my thighs.

He gripped my hips, roughly, and lifted me onto the counter, and I collapsed onto it as he kissed me even _deeper _than he already had been, if that was possible. My hands went to the bottom of his shirt on his back, lifting it up some and tracing his lower back muscles, and he held me closer.

I didn't care, it felt better, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a chokehold and he responded to my touch with an eagerness I hadn't ever known.

He broke apart for air, and continued moving his lips up and down my neck, sucking on the sensitive skin just below my ear. I gasped and wound my fingers through his hair, as his tongue traced lazy, hot circles on my neck. I whimpered as he stroked the other side of my neck, pushing against it to bring my neck closer to his tongue, not that I was pushing it hard enough myself.

He nibbled on my skin a little, and licked playfully at the spot. "Mmm… E-Edwar…" I tried to moan out his name, and I felt him smile against my neck, and licked it with more pressure.

"Mmm." I moaned out again and I felt the smirk on my arm.

I tapped his arm, _needing _that talented tongue in my mouth again.

"E-Edwarddd." I tried to say his name, and I brought his face back up to mine. I took a quick breath before grabbing his chin and forcing his mouth back on mine, sucking gently on his top lip.

I shivered as he roughly pulled on my hair, I forcefully took his hands from my head, and pushed him back on the other side of the counter. He looked at me, shocked for a moment, regret coloring his features.

I hopped off of the counter, and not too softly tasted his sweet lips on mine again, feeling him smile again as he relaxed his body against mine, and he slid his leg in between mine; I gasped as I felt a pounding ache in between my legs, in the very spot Edward's leg was, and I leaned against him more, the feeling giving me too much pleasure.

His eyes shot open in surprise, and he broke the kiss, glancing down at him leg, and the way I was leaning on it, and he let out a low, throaty groan, shooting his mouth to mine in no time as he lifted his leg higher, and I gasped again and let out a needy moan.

His thigh hit a spot that made me collapse, and, I didn't worry because he caught me anyways, moving his mouth slowly against mine as he moved his leg up and down my throbbing core, and I had to break the kiss, leaning my head on his neck, not even able to move, as he held me up.

I moved against him, and bit his neck, not enough to hurt him, but enough to restrain my embarrassing noises.

I was rewarded with a low, throaty groan as Edward's hands hitched my legs around his hips, and spun us around, pressing me into the counter, and more into Edward.

He leaned me over the counter, never breaking his hot kisses as he crawled on top of me, rubbing at my sides as he leaned down to get better leverage to my mouth. The ache began to dull as I refocused my attention on the way his hands were moving on my sides.

As his right hand was rubbing and squeezing at my thighs as his left hand tugged and pulled at my hair every time I bit his lip a little.

I moaned as he raised his hand a little bit higher, the very tops of his pointer and middle fingers grazed the bottom of my breast slightly, and paused, looking down at me as I tried with all the control I ever had not to move his hand up.

He paused, and then he brought his hand back down, repeating the action enough to drive me mad.

After a while, I moaned loudly, and he was startled, pulling away for a second, and looking at his hand. He actually _blushed_.

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't… I didn't realize… that I was." I cut him off with a kiss and wove my fingers through his.

I pulled away enough to speak, "You should be sorry. If you're going to tease me, you might as well follow through with it…"

He stared at me, shocked for a moment, his fingers freezing on mine as he registered what my words meant, I pushed myself harder into the kiss, and eventually he jumped on top of me, growling roughly as he threw himself into the kiss, our mouths moving in desperation against each other and I felt myself pressed against all of him.

His hand resumed its trail, but this time, I could tell he knew what he was doing to me.

If he thought I didn't notice, he was very wrong. This time, when his hand went to the highest, right underneath my breast, he paused for about a minute, deepening the desperate kiss with his tongue and I let out an embarrassing mewling noise, again.

His hand stayed where it was, making me squirm where I was, I let out a whimper when his hand, instead of going where I wanted it most, traveled back down to my waist.

I felt the ends of his mouth lift against mine. He nudged his knee in between my legs and I twisted my leg over it, making escape possible because of the way his leg was pressed against me, and entwining our bodies even more.

His hand moved lower to stroke my calf and my eyes tightened, enjoying the feelings he brought me far too much.

He moved his mouth about an inch from mine, and I whined, and in the sexiest damn voice anyone ever had, spoke, "Open your eyes, Bella."

I immediately widened my eyes, and gasped, his eyes were so black I could barely see any green in them.

Again, I'm sure my appearance matched his. I was breathing hard, my mouth tingling from his lips.

I untwisted my leg from his, and turned my body a bit, not strong enough to flip us over so I was on top, but enough to give him the message to do it.

Quickly, he switched positions, giving me the upper hand. I smirked and lowered my mouth onto his again, kissing him as if my life depended on it.

His right hand was resting on my lower back, his left still attached to my neck, moving my head where he wanted it to go, I gladly let him.

My body was burning from wherever he touched me.

I grabbed both of his hands and put them on his sides, and straddled his hips, sitting up.

He looked confused for a moment, and I looked down at him, and I shivered with lust. I slowly trailed my hands along his arms, pausing when I, finally, held his massive muscles in my hands, finally able to admire them properly.

I leaned down and kissed his biceps, moaning as they twitched underneath my lips. I sat back up to see Edward smirking. He leaned up and kissed me again, breaking the kiss as he raised his shirt above his head.

I looked at him, wide eyed and blushing and he smirked and raised his eyebrows, challenging me.

My eyes clouded with lust as, with my right hand, I pushed him back down on the counter, not moving my hand from his chest.

I bent down to kiss him with a new determination, memorizing every one of his muscles with my hands, I trailed my hands across his abs a couple of times before Edward let out a groan and grabbed my hand, bringing them back up to grip his hair tightly, and flipped us over again, now straddling me.

I felt the fire that had burned in me before come back, setting my whole body ablaze. I was panting, the sight of a shirtless Edward on top of me was too much.

My jaw was slacked as he kissed me again, expertly doing all of the things I love the most. His body was pressed against me, the heat of both of our bodies binding as I felt every indent of his muscles on every curve of my body.

I slid my hands in between our bodies, groping his muscles that I just couldn't seem to get enough of. His hand returned to its frustrating position on my thigh, and tapped his fingers to a fast pace.

Surprisingly, the beat of his fingers matched the fiery pace of my heart. My mouth froze on top of his and I blushed, biting my swollen lip, thoroughly embarrassed. Was it really so bad that he could feel the thump of my heat?

He chuckled and kissed me again, making me forget about the rough beating of my heart, and twisting myself again, letting Edward know I wanted to be on top again.

He didn't break the kiss as he flipped us over, and my mouth traveled to his neck, tasting the sweet moisture that had gathered there, he groaned, pulling my hair to guide me to what felt best.

I suddenly felt my head being pulled back to his and he kissed me again, and I shivered as he stroked my outer thighs.

He bent down to kiss me, and I had to resist the urge to succumb to this unfamiliar flame in my lower stomach.

I didn't even know what it meant. My eyebrows scrunched together and I blushed, only now realizing how inexperienced I was, it was an embarrassment. Past this, I hadn't done anything, hell, this was the first time I ever even kissed a guy…

I took a deep breath when he pulled away slightly, my mind swirling.

He laid a gentle kiss on my lips, stroking my cheek as he did so. He chuckled and pulled away some. His eyes widened as he took in our position on the counter, his knee in between my legs with him on top of me, and his hand right below my breast, he blushed again and moved to get off of me.

Before I could even think about it, I grabbed his back and leg, roughly keeping him in place. Truly, I was shocked at my boldness and I blushed, but was reluctant to let go of him.

He smirked at me, incredulous, and lowered himself down on me again, and moved his lips to my ear.

"We'll have _plenty _of time for that later, love."

**Yes! I did it! that took forever… I know, I'm sorry, but I wanted to make it perfect, tell me what you liked…**

… **tell me what you want to see AGAIN.**

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	17. Whoever Invented Conditions Sucks

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

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**Tacara- you rock, and… I'm semi sorry I made you late for work… ;) thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope work went well? Haha, you rock for reading it before work, and you are rewarded!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

**Last chapter-**

He laid a gentle kiss on my lips, stroking my cheek as he did so. He chuckled and pulled away some. His eyes widened as he took in our position on the counter, his knee in between my legs with him on top of me, and his hand right below my breast, he blushed again and moved to get off of me.

Before I could even think about it, I grabbed his back and leg, roughly keeping him in place. Truly, I was shocked at my boldness and I blushed, but was reluctant to let go of him.

He smirked at me, incredulous, and lowered himself down on me again, and moved his lips to my ear.

"We'll have _plenty _of time for that later, love."

**This chapter-**

Slowly, I moved my hands from his body, my face a permanent crimson color, as I raised my hands to cover my embarrassed face.

He pressed his legs against mine once more, and I fought back a moan. He rolled off of me, our legs dangling off of the counter, and laying side by side.

"I-I'm sorry…"

I turned my head to his and he smirked, "It's fine, Bella, but I just don't think that it would be advisable to… lose all of our control… like _that_, with a three year old upstairs."

He gave me a little wink as my face grew even redder, and I licked my swollen lips, well… if he didn't want me to lose control, we need to move.

I had an angry expression on my face… I wanted to… lose control, really bad.

He sat up, pulling me with him and he smoothed my hair away from my face as he lightly pressed his soft, warm lips to mine, it was a shocking contrast to our earlier heavier kisses.

My hands were limp on his chest as he helped me slip off of the counter, pulling his lips away and smiling and leaning his forehead on mine.

"I love you too."

I gasped as he said that, and as I looked into his adoring eyes, you could see he meant it. I timidly smiled at him.

We stood there, so close, and staring at each other, and I leaned up to kiss him again, clearly expressing to kiss what I wanted and he groaned, his eyes tightening.

"B-Bella… not now."

I sighed and folded my arms on my chest, thoroughly disappointed. I looked at the clock… 3 a.m. hmm, how long had we been down here?

Nessie was probably deep asleep… would she even notice? I sighed, realizing that she would, and I didn't want to have to worry about it.

Edward narrowed his eyes at my mischievous expression on my face.

He sighed, "You're not doing anything to support my self control here, Bella."

I sighed in defeat, stealing a quick kiss before turning away, Edward grabbed my arm just as I started walking and his eyes were clenched shut and his facial expression torn… maybe?

I shook his head, then, vigorously, letting my arm go.

I huffed and frowned, making everything more dramatic than necessary, and turned to go upstairs.

I took the first step and I felt myself being flipped quickly, and violently pressed into the wall. I looked to see Edward.

"I changed my mind." His lips then crushed themselves to mine, as I moaned, he made grunting noises, his large hands roaming my back.

"Mm." I moaned again slightly as he lifted his hand to the strap of my tank top. He hooked his fingers underneath the fabric, beginning to pull it down.

"AHHHH! Alice was right… Momma? Daddy?"

We both froze, our heads snapping towards Nessie. Edward quickly disentangled himself from me, and sighed, smiling at her.

"What was Alice right about sweetie?" Edward said to her.

"She said that it wouldn't take long before you attacked each other…"

I sighed as Edward looked at me, shocked at her. I sighed, yet again defeated, ad gave Edward a quick hug before guiding Nessie upstairs with my hand.

"What else did Alice tell you?"

--

Nessie went to bed a little later.

I was thankful to hear that Alice hadn't told her anything else; that would've been brutal to explain. Nessie looked happy when I told her that I loved her Dad, and she said-

"You mean, we're a real family now?"

That line broke my heart, and I watched her smiling and sleeping form snuggle up next to Jacob. They looked like something off of a hallmark commercial…

I silently laughed, and laid down next to her, thinking as my eyes focused on a sliver of moonlight on the wall that bled through the window.

My fingers ghosted over my red and swollen lips, proof that tonight wasn't a figment of my imagination. I remembered how rough and forceful… and _animalistic _everything we did was.

I wanted to go further, but Nessie would need to be out of the house for that to happen.

I shifted the position of my legs… we _would _have gone further if Nessie had stayed asleep, I sighed. I shouldn't think that way, she was my daughter! I laughed at how much my priorities had changed since I met Edward.

Don't get me wrong, Nessie was still at the top of my list… but now… she was tied with Edward. Now, things would be so different… I was in _love_… I never thought that would happen.

I felt like this was a movie… this stuff wasn't supposed to happen to failures like myself… I wasn't about to complain though… Edward was magic, and he was _my _magic.

When I was a little girl, I used to watch movies with my mom, and I would see the main characters fall in love; then, I would look at my parents, and see how in love they were, and want to fall in love myself.

I remember my first crush being Leonardo Dicaprio from Titanic, I always cried at the part when Rose begged Jack to stay alive.

My mom would cry too, and my father, willing to do anything besides watching our chick flicks, cuddled us and comforted us.

I wanted that for myself. Well… not for Edward to die… but to have what they had, and now I had it. I had _him._

I let out a tiny yawn as the realization of everything sunk in. I felt like giggling like a school girl. Edward had done so much for me… he sewed my life back together.

He made me happy for the first time in years. The comparison from now and years ago… it's amazing what he had done… I thought I was a lost cause… but Edward saved me… and that, was a miracle that he had enough persistence and kindness to try for me.

He was everything I ever dreamed of, and, the surprising part?

Everything that I had. I had a faint smile on my face as I ducked beneath the covers beside Nessie and felt sleep wash over me.

--

I woke up the next morning with a groan.

"Mamma! I want breakfast! Come on! MAMMA!"

I pressed a pillow to my head and glanced at the clock, able to get a good look at it while Nessie was moving the bed with her bounces.

5:00 in the morning. I groaned, two hours of sleep? Really?

I sighed as Nessie pulled me out of bed and into the kitchen, I gripped the counter not to fall over.

I gave a husky with sleep laugh when I realized I had been doing the same thing three hours ago… just in better circumstances.

"I want bacon! Oh! And eggs! Yeah! And sausage, mamma!"

Not even opening my eyes, I cracked the eggs, and put on the bacon and sausage, and leaned my head on the counter, waiting for it to be done, occasionally flipping the food over to distract myself from falling asleep.

I filled a plate for Nessie, and made two for myself and Edward later, and poured her some juice and gave it to her bouncing form.

Too much Alice… I thought as I yawned. I leaned over the countertop, my head in my hands as my eyes drifted shut again.

I heard a gasp, but I didn't have it in me to open my eyes. I heard a low chuckle, and a giggle.

"Nessie… why did you wake your mother up this early?"

I opened my eyes enough to see Nessie shrug, unrepentant, and my eyes snapped closed again.

"_Well_, it's not my fault Mamma isn't an early riser like you or Alice."

He chuckled again and I slipped off of the counter, snuggling up to the floor, hmm… it was sort of comfy…

I felt myself being picked up, "Alright sleepy head, let's get you to bed."

I protested slightly, "But," yawn, "I'm not even…" yawn "tired… besides…that was comfy…"

He chuckled, cradling me in his strong arms as he carried me up the stairs.

"Of course you aren't tired, and yes, the floor is _very _comfy." He cooed at me, slight amusement in his voice as I leaned on his chest.

He gently laid me back down on my back. "Yeah…" yawn "the floor… the floor… is… i-"

I was cut off by a large yawn on my part. He laughed quietly and I felt pressure on my lips before I yawned again; I didn't remember anything else.

--

I woke up, a great deal more satisfied this time than the last.

I pressed my face into the pillow, when the reflection of the sun glared at my eyes.

I turned my head the other way, smiling at the wall. I got up and walking to the bathroom, brushing my hair and teeth.

I went to my dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a midnight blue tee shirt. I looked at the clock, 4:00 p.m.

_Much _better. I smiled as I walked downstairs, to be met by Edward teaching Nessie to play patty cake. I smiled when Nessie 'accidentally' smacked his face and, he, in mock anger, tackled her to the floor, tickling her.

I giggled and walked the rest of the way down. When Edward saw me he stood up, "Well, hello, Ms. Sleepyhead…

I blushed as I felt Edward's arms wrap around my waist, pulling me close to him as he kissed my cheek. I looked down to see Renesmee beaming up at us, and Edward leaned down to pick her up and engaging in a group hug.

Nessie giggled, and Edward smiled and I blushed when my stomach growled. Edward took my hand, Nessie still on his hip, as he took out my breakfast, giving it to me.

"Thanks."

I swung my legs back and forth on the bar stool, my eyes locked on the spot where we had kissed last night. I was staring at that exact spot and smiling as I chewed on my bacon.

"Bella?" Edward seemed reluctant to tear my thoughts away from where they were, and, from the knowing look on his face, he had known what I was thinking about when his eyes flickered to my favorite part of the counter.

I was too happy about it to be embarrassed. "Yeah?"

He looked sort of nervous, "Um… I, well, I was wondering. If you wanted to accompany me to my company Christmas party this weekend?" He spoke the last part really formally and fast and I smiled at his cuteness.

I pushed my plate away and skipped to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest as I kissed his ear, my lips moving against it as I spoke, "Of course I'll go with you."

He turned us around and he hugged me, and, facing away from Nessie, kissed me lightly. That alone made me shiver.

"Thank you, Bella."

I stuttered, "Y-you're welcome."

He gave me one more quick kiss, making my heart skip a beat. He chuckled, giving me a lopsided grin, as if sensing this.

He couldn't… I blushed, he did yesterday… he could today, my heart beat quickened. He grinned again and stroked my cheek. He leaned in and pecked my nose with his lips.

I giggled, "By the way… I'm in love with you."

He laughed, enjoying the way I mocked myself earlier that day. "I love you, you know."

I giggled, wrapping my arms around him as he placed fluttering kisses on my neck, making me laugh in response as his lips tickled my neck.

My hands flew to his hair, making the sweet gesture a little more… intense, and behind us, Nessie made a grossed out noise.

"The kissing is okay… but you have to do _that _someplace else…" I jumped off of Edward's lap, completely embarrassed, but happy all the same.

Edward snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me back to him, only innocently hugging me now and using my shoulder for head support.

I sat on the chair in between his legs and Nessie looked at us with a pleading face.

"Mamma? Daddy?"

I looked to Edward, confused, and he shrugged, motioning for her to keep talking about what she wanted.

"I-I was wondering if I could go shopping with Alice tonight, she said she was going to teach me where to get the best stuff!"

He eyes were so desperate, and I laughed, "Sure, baby, when is she coming over?"

Nessie suppressed a smile. She leapt up from her chair and opened the door, revealing a bouncy Alice. I smiled, of course she would already be here.

She looked like she had gotten a sugar high from Snickers and Snapple… I giggled as Alice said hello and goodbye in her sing-song voice she locked the door behind them.

Immediately, I flung myself around, enthusiastically kissing Edward, hopping up on his lap while he smiled against my lips, his arms winding around me.

I adjusted my hips to get closer to him, and he froze, moving me back a little, and I looked at him, confused as to why, but he kissed me again and I was fine… and dizzy.

We broke apart for air a little while later and I smiled at Edward, relaxing in his lap and leaning my head on his chest once I was thoroughly satisfied.

"So… you'll really come with me?"

I laughed, puzzled, "Do I have any reason to not want to go…?"

He just held me to him tighter, "No, I just… it will be… our first… you know."

He blushed on my shoulder, "Our first date? And why would I be anything other than ecstatic about that?"

He beamed at me, "You're unpredictable sometimes…"

I grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at the intensity in my eyes, "Edward Cullen, I will never be anything short of ecstatic when I am doing something involving you."

He kissed me, something in the kiss displaying adoration, and I welcomed it in.

He pulled away, our lips breaking apart with a weird noise. "Bella…I want to talk about something."

I leaned my head against his chest and sighed, happy, content, nothing could take me off of my natural high.

"I want you to go and see your parents soon."

Well… apparently not nothing…

"Edward… we've been over this time and time again…"

"I know that."

I sighed, "They won't-"

I was cut off by him breaking my speech with a subtle grab of my cheek, stroking it with his thumb.

"Bella. You're right, we _have _been over this time and time again… but, look at this from my perspective. No matter what, love, in your parents' eyes, you'll be theirs, and they'll be happy about it. They love you, Bella, they probably wouldn't care if you were a killer, and they'll want you. Forever and ever. Just like me."

I smiled faintly at his attempt at reassuring me, and he saw the doubt on my face. He sat back in his chair, at a loss for what to think.

"I'll get you to go… somehow… I will."

I hugged him again, his face was calculating, but his arms were still around me, his fingertips brushing my neck. Even when he wasn't trying to drive me crazy, he did.

We stayed like that for a while, me leaning on his chest, his hands comforting me, while he thought about something, and thoughts of my parents came flooding through my head.

_*Flashback-*_

_I was watching t.v. with my parents. It was my fifth birthday tomorrow!_

_I was so excited, I looked to my mom._

"_Mom? Can I be five any sooner?" I pouted as she laughed and pulled me into her warm embrace._

"_Bella! You make such a beautiful four year old, though!" she smiled at me and I frowned._

"_But! That means dat I'll be even beautifuler when I'll be five!"_

_She laughed, "I have no doubt about that!" she kissed my forehead and my dad gave me a hug._

"_Do you guys think I'll be this amazing when I'm…" I thought to an old age, "20?"_

_We had a group hug, "Honey, you'll never fail to be amazing, and when you're 20? I can't even fathom how proud we'll be of you!"_

_I laughed as my dad started to tickle me, "Did you ever have a doubt, bells?"_

_I laughed again and hugged my parents._

_*end flashback-*_

They would be nothing short of ashamed and disgusted at the sight of me at age 20.

--

Edward and I ate dinner in silence; each of us having something big on our minds. It wasn't an awkward silence, no, it wasn't unsettling, the silence was filled with our thoughts, and comforting touches.

We ended up on the couch after some short time.

"What have you been thinking about?" Edward asked, the curiosity was evident in his voice, while he was twisting a strand of my hair in between his forefinger and thumb.

I sighed, and sadness colored my tone, "I was thinking about my parents."

He sighed too, and pulled me up tight against his chest.

"I think that you'd always regret it if you never found out, love."

He was right, in a sense… I regret it now, even, but I couldn't… I just couldn't… it brought too much apprehension and fear. I couldn't face them. Edward noticed my silence.

"Besides, it can't be that bad if I'm there, right? Didn't you just say that you'd be ecstatic to do anything with me? This counts."

I wanted to talk about something else… I smiled against his chest, "Edward?"

"Yes, love?"

"It's later…" I looked at him suggestively through my lashes and his eyes widened, all of a sudden he had an evil glint in his eyes.

His hands knotted in my hair, pulling my hair towards him as he kissed me, I moaned, surprising myself at how loud it was…

His kisses right now… it was hard to explain, they seemed persuasive. Yes! I internally screamed, finally, it's later.

His hands played at my sides for a moment, tapping to the beat of my heart while he kissed me, making my head spin.

It's like he wanted something, it was like he was trying to coax me into something. It was a delicious kiss… and I pulled away for air.

My hands, much too eager for my own good, went to my tee shirt, ready to lift it over my head, but he smirked and backed away, to his end of the couch, leaving my cold and wanting.

I looked at him in agitation and anger, "Please?" I tried, and he shook his head.

I shrugged, again, he was right and wrong. "Bella… I made an ultimatum. And… judging from your…. Ah… reactions to me, you don't want me to make it."

I shot up quickly, "What's the ultimatum."

Edward smirked, "It's not really an ultimatum… more of an… agreement, or a final condition."

My eyes widened… what was he planning? He smirked, and licked his lips, which my eyes flickered down to.

"Well, I've decided that I'm not going to have sex with you until you reconnect with your parents." He had that unmistakable smirk plastered on his face.

I blushed, both of fury and embarrassment.

"B-but… That isn't fair." I muttered out, completely surprised by his sudden declaration.

He shrugged, leaning back on the couch with cockiness and ease.

"I guess… it all depends on how you're setting your priorities."

I blanked out. If I never reconnected with my parents… I would never have sex with Edward… on one hand, never was really short, but on the latter half, never was… well, never.

I mean, would I just have to… just never have him that way? No. I couldn't do that, yes, I could kiss Edward all I want… but it wouldn't satisfy _everything _I felt towards him.

I was snapped out of my reverie by a hand waving in my face. I shook my head slightly, probably looking needy with a look of desperation on my face. He looked amused at my purely torn expression on my face, but he also looked kind of shocked, for some unknown reason.

E.P.O.V.

"Well, I've decided I'm not going to have sex with you until you reconnect with your parents." I smirked as soon as I said this.

I meant it as a sort of joke… it wasn't a serious condition, I was just teasing her, I mean, I thought she would laugh, utterly disgusted by the thought of having sex with me.

I thought she would crinkle her nose in disgust, and slap my arm for being out of line.

That's what I _thought _was going to happen.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth Bella froze, she stared at the wall for a few seconds, until a look of absolute fear crossed her features, I became worried and waved my hand in front of her face.

Slowly, she shook her head, and looked at me, her expression one of pure desperation and… need?

I thought it over, and I was quite shocked. What I had meant as a joke, she was taking seriously… my eyes widened as a thought hit me full force.

Bella wanted to have sex with me, and I might actually get her to see her parents by depriving her. I could use it to my advantage.

Feeling a bit egotistic I leaned back on the couch and leaned on my the back of hands.

"I guess… it all depends on how you're setting your priorities."

She made a small noise of protest, and hung her head in her hands, blushing. I waited a minute. I would get Bella to see her parents.

Very, _very_ slowly, she slid her hands down her face and looked up at me, the picture of fear and timidity.

She pinched the bridge on her nose, something I did a lot, and something I'd never seen her do… I smiled warmly at the fact that she took on one of my qualities.

I gave her a shit eating grin and she grimaced. "When do we leave?" she asked meekly.

**I finished it! Yes, I did do that to Bella. *smiles evilly***

**How long should I deprive her…? I don't know.**

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	18. Have a Holly, Jolly Jessica?

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**LAST CHAPTER-**

Feeling a bit egotistic I leaned back on the couch and leaned on my the back of hands.

"I guess… it all depends on how you're setting your priorities."

She made a small noise of protest, and hung her head in her hands, blushing. I waited a minute. I would get Bella to see her parents.

Very, _very_ slowly, she slid her hands down her face and looked up at me, the picture of fear and timidity.

She pinched the bridge on her nose, something I did a lot, and something I'd never seen her do… I smiled warmly at the fact that she took on one of my qualities.

I gave her a shit eating grin and she grimaced. "When do we leave?" she asked meekly.

**THIS CHAPTER-**

B.P.O.V.

I went to bed that night unsettled, Edward said that he would get the tickets, and surprise me with when we were going.

… yay…

I didn't like not knowing when… it was like you were going to die when the sand went all the way to the bottom of the hour glass, and you didn't know whether you were a minute or a second away from death.

Sure, the circumstances weren't that… dire but that's what it felt like. I didn't know how long I had, I didn't know how much time to cherish before my parents' opinions of me crushed me.

My mind was racing with all the different scenarios of when and how this was going to happen.

My parents could accept me… that was the best option… but, let's not be too optimistic here… my parents expected better from me, and I couldn't be accepted. Not now, not ever.

My ears started to be blurred by tears, I choked on a sob for my parents and fisted my hands in the bed sheets, my eyes wrinkling as tears left my eyes in tens.

I was laying on my side, and looking at an empty pillow, Alice had called, saying that the mall was open all night, so I felt a bit lonely. Geez… if I didn't want Edward this badly then I could just blow this off. That wasn't a probably option either.

I was slightly cold, and I shivered. There was only one thing in the world that could comfort me, and I knew what it was. I sat up, and tiptoed to Edward's room.

I brought my hand up to knock, and brought it away again. This faintly reminded me of when I was afraid to do this at another time. I frowned at myself, I shouldn't be afraid to go to Edward.

I saw ten more tears splash to my neck and I opened the door slowly. Edward was still asleep. Slowly, I lifted up the covers and scrambled in beside him, sniffling.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was hoarse and shocked as he flipped on the light by his bed, looking at me with almost closed eyes, still used to sleep.

He registered the tears on my face, and his expression resembled concern, he scooted next to me and wrapped his arms around me, rocking us back and forth. I cried into his chest, soaking his shirt with my tears as he lifted me onto his lap, sighing.

"Shh… Bella, it's okay, you're safe, I'm here, it's okay, I love you." He kept repeating reassuring words in my ears as he stroked my hair and situated my head between his neck.

After a while, my sobs transformed into sniffles and heavy breathing. Finally, Edward gently brought my face before his, his brow furrowed, looking at my face, trying to find what was wrong so he could fix it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, adjusting into a comfortable position.

"Did I do something wrong, love?" his brow was still knit together, trying to find the source of my hurt.

"Bella… what I said before… if it hurts you, then…" I gently kissed his cheek, letting my lips linger for a moment.

"No. The only thing you did was comfort me," he smiled at that, but he still looked worried, "I-I'm worried about my parents, Edward… I just don't think they'll be too happy to see me."

He stroked my cheek for a moment.

"You know what my parents always tell me, Bella? They always say that everything is worse at night, and in the morning it'll be silly. How about, we get some sleep, we have fun at the Christmas party tomorrow, and we'll think about all of this after that."

I smiled faintly, "Okay… okay, sure, later."

He smiled too, at seeing mine, and hugged me. He gave me a gentle kiss, his brows furrowed as he applied more pressure with his lips. Somehow, it made the kiss more tender, and I reveled in it.

He pulled away, and smiled at me, I sighed, "I suppose I should go to sleep now…"

I lifted the covers to reluctantly go back to my bed when I felt Edward's hand on my arm and I turned back to see that he had a confused expression on his face, he slowly pulled me back down onto the bed, laying down and wrapping his arms around me.

"You're already here. Don't leave." He cooed at me and I beamed at him in the darkness and yawned.

I heard him sigh in his sleep a few moments later and he slung his arm around my waist, pressing me to him tightly. I smiled and flipped around, so that we were facing the same direction and my back was pressed against his chest, I sighed, content.

I fell asleep thinking about the Christmas party, being linked on Edward's arm.

--

I woke up the next morning and groaned… that wasn't enough sleep. I smashed my face into something warm with an enticing smell, I hugged whatever it was to me, inhaling the wonderful smell, and I heard a chuckle.

"Well… hello to you too."

My eyelids fluttered open to see I was practically suffocating myself in Edward… I blushed, releasing him from my tight grip. I scooted a little bit away from him and looked up at him sheepishly, as he looked at me, amused, before he pulled me back to him, kissing my forehead.

"I-I'm sorry…?"

He chuckled at me, "Oh Bella, I won't ever mind if you nee-want to be close to me." he smiled at me and I blushed again.

I looked over to the clock and gasped, it was 10 o clock.

"Edward?! You must've been awake for hours, why did you stay here?"

I looked up at him in wonder and he tucked some of my hair behind my ear and flashed me a crooked smile and he gave a little snicker.

"I certainly didn't get bored…"

He looked amused at some personal joke he had made, my eyebrows furrowed, and I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling.

"And how did you entertain yourself?" I asked with a smile.

He snickered, "I didn't, you did… you… you talk in your sleep." He seemed reluctant to tell me, so the words came out slowly, his eyes guarded.

My hand flew to my mouth in surprise, shock covering my features.

"What did I say…" I said the words slowly, not wanting to hear his answer.

He suddenly looked sympathetic, with I probably looked the same… but without the sym. He took my hand in his, gripping it tightly.

"You talked about your parents. You're worried about going to see them, why?"

I groaned, "You know why."

He frowned, "I thought we went over this, Bella, you're just going to have to trust me. Can you do that for me?"

I huffed, "Well… it looks like I'm going to have to… you and you're stupid conditions…" I grumbled and Edward suppressed a smile.

"You won't regret that." I better not. "You also said my name, and that you loved me."

I rolled my eyes, moving to straddle his hips, "I love you." I kissed him, conveying how much I truly meant it.

He kissed me back, resting his hand on the nape of my neck, his left hand cupping my cheek. This was a slow kiss, it was slow, and perfect. It held patience and love, and I smiled against his lips and played with the tips of his hair.

I pulled away slowly, content, and rested my head on his chest.

"When is the Christmas party tonight?"

Edward spun a piece of my hair around his finger, sighing as he let it drop on my back, and then pick it up again.

"Well… the party starts at four, and it ends at 11." I groaned, he smiled, "But I'll make sure we don't show up until nine thirty." One hour and a half… I could do that…

"… And, knowing my sister, she'll be here at four, dressing us up and making us 'presentable'."

I smiled, already having anticipated this. He continued, "It won't be too boring for you, you'll get to meet my parents, and Emmett's wife Rosalie-"

I cut him off, "Whoa! How about we back track here? Your parents… Edward…"

He sighed, "Bella, my parents already know about you, besides, even if they didn't, they're very understanding, and as long as I'm happy, they're supportive… you'll just have to trust me on this."

Despite this fair warning and comfort, I couldn't help but feeling flips in my stomach at the need to impress his parents, I'm sure my face was white with anticipation and fear.

What was happening? They wouldn't like me… they_ couldn't _like me… why would they like me… I wasn't good enough for Edward.

I felt tears prickle my eyes, and Edward looked absolutely panicked. He pulled me into him, showering random placed kisses on my head.

"Don't you ever think that… Bella, if anything, I am not worthy of you."

Damn I spoke out loud, I have got to stop doing that.

"Bella, my parents will love you. I told you to trust me, didn't I?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I will trust you… I… I love you."

He smiled at me, holding my hand in his, and spoke very quietly.

"I love you, too, love." I almost passed out… the intensity of his words was overwhelming.

I gasped and blushed, holding myself to him with all of the strength I had.

--

We spent the day in bed for a majority of the day… and I anxiously waited for the Christmas party… where I would meet Edward's parents.

I bounced in my chair in my room, Alice called, saying she was bringing Nessie over and going to give me a make over.

I groaned at that fact, but when I heard that she was going to make me beautiful for Edward, my ears perked up and I agreed before I could make a second thought about it.

I regretted my decision… if Edward didn't care about my looking like an animal in the morning than he wouldn't care if I looked 'beautiful'.

I sighed, wanting this night to be over.

I spent the day in my room, too nervous to come out and try to make conversation with Edward. Edward came in a couple of times to try and comfort me, but when he saw the expression on my face, he knew I had to be alone. And like the gentleman he was, he respected that, and left the room with a small smile, knowing that nothing would comfort me.

I eventually came out of my room when I heard Alice and Nessie, approaching them with a nervous smile.

"Hey, Mamma, look at me!"

My eyes snapped to her, and I gasped, smiling at her. Alice had dressed her up and proudly smiled at her, she was in… designer pajamas…?

I chuckled, and went up to hug Alice, "Thanks for entertaining her, Alice… I owe you more than I thought possible…"

She smiled, giving me a firm squeeze back. "No problem, Bella, I love Nessie… and I'll always take care of her, and I love you too, Bella… for loving Edward. He needed someone."

I backed away, blushing as she smiled.

She clapped, "Okay! Let's get ready for the party!" she grabbed my hand, and pulled me, and tossed Edward a suit in a bag, I looked to him, mouthing the words 'help me' and he chuckled.

Alice stuck me in a chair, and plugged in a curling iron.

"What's wrong, Bella, you're upset."

I blinked, surprised that she would notice, she let a ringlet fall to my head, and I sighed.

"I'm nervous about meeting Edward's parents…" I lied smoothly, I was more than worried about meeting my own parents as well…

She narrowed her eyes, curling more of my hair, "That's not it."

I sighed, watching as another tight curl fell across my neck, "I'm nervous about meeting my own parents too."

I looked down and she gasped, "Really?! Oh! I totally get it, Bella, I would be worried too, but your parents are going to love you, I promise!"

She continued to babble on for about another hour, about my parents, and about how much I should be excited.

I nodded at times, hoping she couldn't tell that I wasn't listening…

"Okay, I finished your hair! I got you the c_ute_st dress! Edward told me your favorite color, so I got it in midnight blue, and then when you get to the party, your hair will be relaxed! It is adorable…"

I worried about coverage… and if I would like it, she seemed to sense this, "Nessie picked it out…"

I nodded, content. She walked over to my dresser, where she unzipped the clothing bag, and she pulled out a _beautiful _dress.

I gasped, staring at it, wide eyed.

It was silk, and it had a sweetheart neckline, and it had a puffy skirt and it looked kind of vintage…

"It's gorgeous!" my eyes didn't tear away from it as I put it on, and as Alice did my make up, I saw it all come together.

"Thanks Alice!" she made me look awesome, and my hair hung in loose curls around my face, and she spread a light blush across my cheekbones, it made me look like I was… glowing…

Alice forced me down the stairs, and when I saw Edward, I gasped.

If I thought he looked freaking fantastic in jeans and a t shirt, I literally tripped when I saw him in a tux.

I fell backwards, and Alice caught me, she giggled, off guard, trying to push me back up with her tiny frame, trying as hard as she could, but she wasn't very strong.

Edward ran up to me, and helped me back up, kissing my cheek lightly.

"You look beautiful, Bella."

I blushed, my knees giving in again, but Edward looked like he was ready for it, his hands gripping me tightly, the only thing keeping me from the ground.

He chuckled, thanking Alice and leading me out to his car, I chewed on my lip nervously.

"Don't be nervous… Bella, I love that you're coming with me, and my parents will love you."

I smiled a forced smile to him, and he knew it, he rolled his eyes, obviously thinking he is right. He wasn't, we pulled into what I had assumed was the hospital and Edward opened my door for me, taking my hand.

He supported most of my weight as I clutched myself to him, and he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. That gave me a little comfort. He opened the doors, and I was shocked to see every head turn towards us. I saw men look at Edward with… envy? And the girls look at me with the same expression.

I blinked furiously, surprised by the silence in the room, the only sound was the dull buzz of Christmas songs from the speakers.

Edward took on a stance of authority, and, hooking his arm through mine, walked me up to two people in the back. Half way there, I noticed that they were abnormally beautiful. The woman had caramel colored hair and a soft complexion, and a flowy purple top with black slacks.

The man had blond hair, a face for the movies, I liked Edward's better, but he was still abnormally beautiful.

I stopped dead in my tracks, realizing who these people were.

Edward brought his hand to my cheek.

"Trust me." his eyes bored into mine, and I, shakily, started to walk towards them again, relying on Edward to hold me up by my waist.

My eyes were as wide as saucers as I stepped in front of these beautiful people. My eyes were glued on a suddenly interesting piece of lint on the ground, and no matter how much I wanted to suddenly be personable and have these people love me instantly, my shy side came out.

How was I supposed to even begin on making a good first impression with these successful people. I had to remember one thing. Trust Edward.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen?" I asked, and the woman, Mrs. Cullen I supposed, stepped up to hug me, while Mr. Cullen hugged Edward.

Surprised by her sudden warmth, I giggled, but eagerly hugged her back, and shook hands with Mr. Cullen.

"You must be Bella, we've heard a lot about you." Mrs. Cullen glanced warmly at Edward.

I gave a smile, "Thank you Mrs. Cullen." I said genuinely.

"Call me Esme, dear." I blinked once, now extremely surprised, but nodded in agreement.

"A-alright, Esme." I looked to Edward, who was beaming at me as my instant blush began to fade.

"So, Bella, how did you and Edward meet?" Carlisle asked eagerly, and my eyes widened, not wanting to have to explain my past to Edward's parents. Here.

I frantically looked at Edward. "I met her at the park." Edward delivered the line smoothly, and it wasn't even a lie… he was good.

Esme giggled and Carlisle smiled, "That's lovely! Oh my, am I going to be hearing wedding bells soon?" Esme asked, her eyes brimming over with happy tears.

I smiled, a little too happy at the idea, and Edward coughed, clearly surprised by the question.

"Mom!" Edward looked to her like she was crazy.

My heart sunk, was the idea so appalling to him? Edward seemed to notice and clarified what he meant.

"We don't have immediate plans to get married, and you are not to make Bella uncomfortable by talking about it… we'll get married when we're good and ready."

At that, I felt a smile form on my face that travelled from ear to ear. I replayed his sentence over and over again in my head, and when the implications of what he meant rang in my ears, I looked up at him in shock.

He looked at me, and once he was entirely sure I was no longer worried that he was disgusted by me, went on talking to his parents.

Actually, it was pretty easy, Esme was personable and lovely, shockingly managing to make me want to contribute to the conversation. Carlisle was smart and he had a fatherly charm about him.

He and Esme made up the kind of couple you only met in the movies, before I could stop myself, I went on talking, while Edward looked at me, relaxing once he realized I had no problem talking to his parents.

And I didn't, it was somewhat easy… or easier than I expected it to be… but, every time I looked at one of them, I pictured my own parents staring back at me and it was starting to take its toll on me, making me nervous and uncomfortable.

I looked to Edward, who swiftly picked up my mood change, making an excuse to his parents that he had to go mingle with his co-workers and wanted to introduce me to everyone.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked somewhere.

"You shouldn't have been worried, Bella… that went better than I thought, you were amazing! Why did you want to leave, anyways."

I looked at the floor as the dull buzz of festive music flew around my ears. I felt embarrassment and sadness come over me.

"I… I looked at your parents… and… and I saw.." I bit my lip, looking up at him and hoping he understood, he did.

He sighed, and stopped walking, the chill of the night air hitting us as we sat down on a bench.

"Bella," his voice took on an essence of intensity and serenity as he looked me straight in the eye.

"Your parents will be ecstatic to see you… I don't know a way to convey that to you… so, I guess you'll just have to wait to see them. It's going to be soon, Bella."

I frowned as I cringed.

"But, now, let's go mingle with my coworkers." Edward smiled and I let him lead me back inside.

I sighed as he directed me to a man who looked intoxicated, with greasy blond hair and a wine glass in his hand.

"D-Dr. Cullen…" his eyes widened and I looked to Edward, confused, until I realized that he was actually afraid of Edward…

I suppressed a giggle, but it stopped on its own as he turned his attention to me… I blushed and looked at him, embarrassed and disgusted.

"W_ell_, hello, beautiful, who are you?" without my consent, which I wouldn't have given, he roughly and unsteadily grabbed my hand, and kissed it.

My eyes widened as I vaguely heard Edward growl, pulling me out of his rough and gross grip.

"This is my _girlfriend, _ Bella. And, if you ever touch her again, you're fired."

My eyes widened as he shook, and Edward sternly reprimanded him with a look that reminded me of Donald Trump.

I curled myself into his arm that was wound around my waist, and looked up at him, expressing my happiness through my eyes. He winked at me as we walked away from the disgusting man.

"Sorry about that, Mike is a little stupid." He smiled regretfully at me and rubbed a random circle on my waist.

I shivered as I thought about when he did that on-

"Dr. Cullen!"

Edward and I turned towards the voice, and looked to see a girl, which Edward groaned at, he looked trapped.

The girl was pretty, she looked like me, but her cheek bones were more prominent and she had brighter eyes, I looked to Edward, worried, did he like this girl… was she competition?

I scrutinized the way she gave him a bubbly handshake and talked on about her day, the look of want in her eyes.

I surprised myself by letting out a small growl, Jessica didn't hear, but Edward shot me a questioning look, an amused one, as I crossed my arms.

"Jessica, this is Bella." She gave me a fake smile and I gave her a sour one, holding out the hand that Mike ruined.

"Hello, Jessica. I'm Bella, Edward's _girlfriend._" I enunciated the word girlfriend and Jessica glared at me, made some excuse to talk to one of her friends.

"Yeah… run along." I said, once she was out of ear shot.

Edward chuckled, pulling me aside, "I must say, you being jealous is very cute."

I glared at him, "_Well, _I'm just so happy you find it amusing…"

He chuckled again, and started leading me in another direction, towards more people that I wouldn't remember.

I nodded and laughed at all the right times, talking to dozens of people at once.

The more I talked to them, the more I realized they all shared one thing… when we walked up to them, their posture would straighten and they'd start to look nervous.

I realized that they all had a level of respect for Edward, they were _all _afraid of him, and it made me want to laugh.

We continued 'mingling' with these people, and my face began to grow numb from smiling that much. Smiling fake smiles isn't fun… I felt like I was a kid again… on those Christmases where we had guests, and the only thing you could do was smile widely.

I was glancing at the clock every few moments, and decided that I would go call Alice in the bathroom.

I dialed the numbers.

"Alice? Are any of you coming tonight?" I asked, hopeful.

"No… I'm watching Nessie, and Emmett is on a date with Rosalie."

"Geez… fine… I'm so bored."

"Well… you have to endure one more hour… so… have fun! I'm going to paint Nessie's nails."

I groaned in protest as the line went dead. This was going to be a long night…

I walked back out into the party; large, fake smile intact, to see… Jessica… handing Edward a glass of wine, which he looked reluctant to take.

My eyes narrowed as he searched for something.

Ah hell no… mess with my man, and you get fire. I stormed forward with a new vengeance.

**I have a plan for the ending, don't worry…**

**I'm sorry it took so long, I had to write a paper on the history of pocket watches… boring, right?**

**Chapter question- BREAKFAST, LUNCH, OR DINNER?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	19. My Time is Gone

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight. And the sad thing is that I never will!**

**I'm sorry that this took a while, the girls and I were having a Titanic movie night of crying with candy and Snapple. Don't worry, I'll never give up on this story. Ever.**

**So, now that all of the fun of Rose and Jack is over… let us begin on some new fun **

**Ugh, I broke my retainer yesterday, and now I have to go get a new one **** and it's upsetting because it hurts… I have to get a new one on Monday, but I'll just have to be more careful **

**Reviewer(s) of the chapter-**

**EdwardsElla- oh my goodness, I am using you to represent everyone else who assumed that the chapter question was sexual, it was so funny, because it wasn't meant that way… but I'm guessing breakfast sex is the best ;) I'll take your word for it.**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

**Last chapter-**

"Well… you have to endure one more hour… so… have fun! I'm going to paint Nessie's nails."

I groaned in protest as the line went dead. This was going to be a long night…

I walked back out into the party; large, fake smile intact, to see… Jessica… handing Edward a glass of wine, which he looked reluctant to take.

My eyes narrowed as he searched for something.

Ah hell no… mess with my man, and you get fire. I stormed forward with a new vengeance.

**This chapter-**

B.P.O.V.

"Again… I am so, so sorry… I can't believe I did that… it was completely unlike me and I am giving you the biggest apology…" I said in the most sincere voice I could muster up while looking at this slut.

My face held an expression of regret, but inside, I was smirking and dancing with happiness at what had happened.

"Like… whatever, I can't believe you did it either!" she made an 'uh' sound and clicked her tongue as I struggled to keep my nice girl composure.

I looked at Jessica's broken nose and the brace on her neck, secretly thinking she got what she deserved. She winced, overly dramatic, as she touched the tip of her nose, glaring at me all the while.

"Like… it's just suckish because I got this nose for my birthday, and you ruined it. I, like, don't even know what he sees in you…"

She snarled at me and I resisted the urge to punch her again, but, looking at the white hospital gown and room she was in… I didn't. the dull sound of her iv being empty filled the room and a nurse hurriedly came in and changed it, escaping Jessica's evil glare by keeping her head down. Smart nurse…

I knew she was talking about Edward… and that's what bugged me.

I heard the door to the tiny room open. "Ms. Swan? Jessica needs to sleep… we're going to have to ask you to leave."

I nodded and she left with the click of a door. I sighed, reluctantly turning my attention back to Jessica as she raised her thin eyebrows at me, expectant. I raised my chin and straightened my back, hitching my purse higher on my shoulder.

"Well, I guess that's what you get when you flirt with someone else's man, I see you more with… Mike Newton was it? Yes… he seems like our type exactly." I gave her another sour smile, turning on my heel and leaving, not even giving her a second glance as I walked towards said man, but feeling her disbelieving eyes on my back as she gasped.

"Hey…" I said, suddenly nervous as he looked at me, his face expressionless.

I stopped two feet in front of him, and he turned, moving towards his car. I quietly followed him, and we got to the car and he started the car. Before he pulled out, his eyes flickered to my buckled seatbelt. I glanced at the clock, sighing as I realized that this car ride would last another 10 minutes… I looked to Edward and his jaw was set, his face not betraying the slightest emotion. I felt very, very nervous and I didn't like it.

The whole ride was silent… I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with not knowing what he was thinking. His eyes were locked on the road ahead of him, which I normally would have been happy for, but right now, I wanted him to do something, I'd rather him yell at me than the silent treatment he was giving me now… My lips pressed together in a tight line and Edward sighed when we pulled into the driveway. Edward put the car into park, and slowly took his hand off of the gear shift and got out of the car, we went inside. I fiddled with my thumbs, standing awkwardly as Edward leaned on the counter, roughly pinching the bridge of his nose.

The dull chime of the grandfather clock was the only thing I could hear as it struck two a.m. and Edwards frozen form… stayed frozen… The seconds ticked by and I shuffled my feet, resisting the urge to run away; I knew I couldn't, this is how Edward acted when he needed to say something, he needed time to think things over. He was always so exact, so I stayed put where I was.

Ever so slowly, he raised his hands up and gripped the ends of his hair, his face lowered. He lowered his hands slowly over his face, his eyes now looking directly at me.

I gulped.

He walked towards me, I stayed put where I was, having a hard time looking away from his penetrating gaze and not wanting to.

He stopped, and I looked up at him, timid now. He contemplated something, looking into my eyes as I bit my lip, completely unsure whether or not I would like his reaction. I couldn't be sure right now.

"Hmm." He crossed his arms.

I gulped again.

"You embarrassed me in front of my co-workers and parents. You acted sourly around someone less mature than you, exhibiting a snide side of you that I thought was gone. You _punched _one of them _twice_ for flirting with me. You hospitalized her."

With every word he spoke… my head lowered… I was so embarrassed, the truth of his words rang in my ears.

I did him wrong. There was a long, silence. He sighed.

"I should be angry, I should find all of this weird and crazy, I _should _find _you _crazy."

He was right, he should find me crazy.

"But what worries me is that the only part I find weird or crazy about this is that I loved every second of it."

My head snapped up, confusion was clear on my face.

"What?"

He wrapped his arms around me, "You cloud my better judgment of what's right and wrong. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it."

My eyes widened, completely taken off guard, I expected anger, hurt, and for him to feel betrayed…

What I _didn't _expect was an eager, hot, and needy kiss the second he stopped talking. I hummed into his mouth in approval, tugging on the strands of hair he had pulled on before. I felt his eyebrows pull together against mine in concentration.

He sighed against my mouth, and I felt his minty breath fan across my face, I was trembling. He pulled away, leaving me slightly disoriented…

"O-kay…? I... I didn't really-" I was cut off by another kiss, I smiled against his mouth, alright with the decision.

"M'kay." I said against his lips, and hoisted myself up onto his lips, and locking his neck in a chokehold.

He tightened his hands on my back and backed me into the counter. He sat me down, but I didn't unwrap my legs from his waist.

We heard a cough come from behind us, and we looked to see Alice with a sleeping Nessie in her hands. I took a deep breath and slid off of Edward and the counter, walking over to Alice.

"Thanks." I whispered and she winked, looking at Edward. She had something to say to him, so I took Nessie up to her bed.

When I got there, Jake was pacing around the room, and as soon as he saw Nessie, it looked like he let out a breath, and trotted over to us.

I chuckled, setting Nessie in her bed, and watching Jake curl up next to her, falling asleep almost instantly.

I gently kissed Nessie's head and she smiled in her sleep.

I sighed and slipped into the bathroom to take a hot shower, I didn't know why, but it sounded really good, especially since it was this late.

--

Surprisingly, I couldn't get to sleep that night, I looked at the clock. 4:00 a.m. I wasn't tired and I didn't want to sleep.

I thought about that day.

I smiled as I thought back to the Christmas party, thinking of Jessica's astonished face when I punched her. Twice.

_Flashback~_

_I stomped up to her, my heels not even affecting my walk thanks to the adrenaline pumping through me. She pulled Edward a bit closer as I approached, and Edward was pushed closer by the crowd behind him. _

"_What the hell are you doing?" I asked as I got closer, she looked at me, smirked, and planted a kiss on his cheek that he cringed away from._

_I growled, stepping up to her. Instinctively, I brought my hand back, and socked her straight in the throat. Edward looked at me through shocked eyes but I ignored it._

_She clutched her throat, looking at me with hate filled eyes but I ignored her. She stood up, furious._

_She coughed as she talked, "You… y-you bitch! How could you do that! You're just jealous because Edward loves me and not… n-not you."_

_At that, my nostrils flared and I let out another small growl, and before thinking a second thought… I repeated my last action, but this time, it was a blow to her nose._

_End flashback~_

I smiled, I know I should regret hitting Jessica. I really should. My conscience should be heavy and I should be at the hospital, ashamed at myself.

Instead? I was proud of myself, and I know violence isn't the answer… but who says that I should regret it? She deserved it… I waited too long for the happiness he gave me to give it to _her…_

I narrowed my eyes in the dark, I didn't want him to go back to work… he would see Jessica every day, but if he loved her, he would be with her already.

I had complete confidence in the fact that I was the only one Edward loved. And I loved him, that was all that mattered. Jessica couldn't get in the way of that, and I knew that. Maybe I shouldn't have hit her… it didn't really matter what she said to either of us. She couldn't change a thing between us, and that thought made my heart flutter.

I heard a soft knock on the door. If it was possible, it was peppy and excited. I looked to Nessie and then went to the door to meet who I already knew was going to be Alice.

I opened the door to see a bouncing Alice. I rolled my eyes as she led me downstairs, how could anyone be this peppy at 4 in the morning?

As we passed Edward's room, I heard snoring, so I was sort of wondering where she was leading me, but I trusted Alice.

Why would I not trust Alice? It was obvious that I could trust her with the lives of my daughter and myself, so I didn't think twice about it. She led me to the living room, the only light in the room a dim lamp in the corner.

"I want to talk to you, Bella." She said as she sat down.

I sat down across from her, crossing my legs, completely at ease and drinking whatever was in the mug she handed me. I licked my lips and smiled when I tasted hot chocolate on my tongue.

I motioned for Alice to start talking.

"Okay, so, before we get into the serious stuff… kudos on hitting Jessica, she really had it coming sometime anyways."

She smiled as I giggled, looking down at my mug, suddenly proud of myself again.

"Thanks… I guess." I smiled and she winked at me.

"Now, I wanted to talk to you about your parents… am I allowed to do that?" I sighed as she bit her lip.

"Alice, I owe you my life and more, you can ask anything you want." I smiled, preparing myself. I owed it to her to be honest.

"Alright, do you want me to take care of Nessie when you go?" she asked and I thought about it.

"Hmm… I don't think so… I think, that if my parents don't shoo me away, that I owe it to them to let them meet their granddaughter."

Alice thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "You're right, Bella. I don't think they'd appreciate her not being there."

I gave a small, queasy smile and she gave my arm a little squeeze.

"Bella, you'll be fine. What do you have to lose?"

I looked Alice in the eye, my expression soft and vulnerable.

"What do I have to lose? Alice… I don't have anything to lose, in the worst case scenario, I go back here and nothing happens."

She looked very confused, "Than why are you so nervous?" She asked, genuine curiosity coloring her tone.

I gulped, my eyes wandering to places throughout the room.

"Alice, I'm worried because…" I paused and she waited patiently. "…because… ever since I've left them, I think about them every day. My last memories of them involve happiness and smiles."

I looked at her, "Yeah?"

"And… if they don't want me, then those memories will all be gone, and… and I don't want my last happiness to be taken away. Now, don't misunderstand me. Edward is my _only_ happiness, along with Nessie. But… Edward pieced my life together, he saved me when no one else would, and that never escapes my mind. Edward makes my life worthwhile. But when I say 'my last piece of happiness' I'm talking about the life before Edward. The memories were the best part, I could escape myself in them and be happy for a while."

I sighed.

"I don't want those to be gone, Alice." I spoke in a soft voice.

Alice seemed to be judging how to answer that, I know that if Edward was here, he would keep telling me how much my parents _did _want me, and it was refreshing to have someone think about a different answer.

Alice thought it over for a long time. I gladly gave her the time to give me a different perceptive on _something_.

Alice sighed, and then she smiled a little.

"Well… I guess I have to say I understand your point, but, it's not the only point and you need to know that." I nodded "Now, I'm not going to tell you what your parents are going to do, close your eyes."

My eyes fluttered closed and I thought.

"This may be hard, but this needs to be done." I slowly nodded, eyes still closed.

"Picture your mother. And picture your father, side by side." Alice's voice was soft.

I drew in a shaky breath, but pictured them exactly as I remembered them.

"Describe their personality for me." my eyes squeezed tighter together to prevent the unnecessary tears.

"O-okay… my mother, her mind was all over the place." I smiled as I thought about her, "She was spontaneous. She was a horrible cook. She didn't have an attitude and she was never rude, even when I was. She used to tell me she loved me every second of the day… she meant it too. My father, well… let's just say they're an unlikely match… he was quiet, he had a hard time expressing his feelings. He's stubborn, and he loved my mom, and he loved me. He used to call us the three musketeers because we were all inseparable. I love my parents, and they love me. That's what it was."

I heard silence, slowly, I opened my eyes to see Alice frowning.

She got up to leave, she was halfway through the door, "I don't need to say anything; you already _know _that you shouldn't be worried."

And somewhere deep, deep, desperately deep down, I knew that.

--

"No, I don't like this, and you know that, but I draw the line at looking like a five dollar hooker!" I whisper/yelled at Alice who rolled her eyes, pushing me towards a mirror.

She laid her hands on either side of me, trying to persuade me to like this piece of red and black fabric.

"Come on, Bells… it's not as bad as you think. I like it a lot!"

Alice did have a point, I liked the idea of a red dress with a black belt… just not this low cut or short. Seriously, I looked like one of those women you saw stumbling and drunk on a street corner who got into the car with the first guy you saw. Alice sighed angrily, pushing more clothing towards me, and pushing me into the dressing room again. I grimaced as I got into another shirt.

Alice had insisted on taking me shopping _today_ at _9 _a.m. apparently, there was a 'blowout' sale at the mall today in 'every' store, and when I said no at first, she looked like I had just killed Santa Claus. I had reluctantly agreed, but I felt like something was going on. In fact, the more I think about it, the decision had seemed urgent and unplanned… but necessary in some way to both Edward and Alice.

We had searched through what seemed like every store in the mall and I was having a hard time walking. I came out of the dressing room and Alice smiled, pulling me to the counter to pay.

"Can we get lunch now, Alice?" she nodded and we headed off to the food court. I looked around for the best option and line, and decided on pizza.

I bit down on the only good part of my day and glared at Alice.

"Did you _have _to take me to all of those stores Alice? there were like a million."

Alice rolled her eyes, "You're over reacting, Bella… you look amazing in every outfit we got you! You should be happy!"

I looked to all of the shopping bags around us, I don't know how she expected these to fit in her Porsche…

I counted… one… three… seven… twelve… sixteen…. 23 bags… freaking Alice.

"23 bags, though? Was there really a need for that many?"

She glanced at her watch again, seeing that it was only 2 o clock.

"Yeah… there's always a need for more, Bella…" she smiled, but it looked forced.

"Can we go home now?"

Alice looked pleading when she said this, "No, we can't go home yet, Bella… um…"

Something was up, "Why can't we go back home, Alice?"

My eyes narrowed as she shifted in her seat. "Um… because… um I wanted to spend some time with you?"

I rolled my eyes, "That's bull, Alice, come on."

"Oh look! Victoria's secret!" she jumped up, pulling me with her, giving me something new to worry about…

We went in. And Alice did her damage to the store. She picked up anything and everything in her path, flitting around in the store and not giving me a chance to ask her any questions… To my horror, Alice made me try on everything, and I felt uncomfortable the entire time. We walked to Alice's Porsche and not only did we fill up the trunk, but we filled up the backseat and the front too. It didn't even look like there was a driver in the car… and Alice had enough problems with that as it was. My feet were about to break off.

"Hey Alice, so," it was 7 o clock, "Why couldn't we leave until now?"

Alice chose that moment to put the radio on its full volume, making speaking impossible because of her melodious voice surrounding the car. I grumbled, and crossed my arms impatiently, waiting to get home so I could ask Edward about it. He would answer me.

The drive home took forever, I didn't know whether it was actually that long or if Alice was driving slowly on purpose. She was a fast driver, Edward had told me once, why was she going so slow… holy crap, 20 miles an hour? She whipped out her phone and dialed what I had memorized as Edward's number.

"Um… yeah… no… we're almost there… is that okay?... no… yes… why? … is it okay to come b- I mean… we're coming back… okay… bye… love you… I know!... go!"

Alice hung up her phone and I was confused to say the least. What was I not getting? Alice snapped her phone shut and suddenly sped from 20 miles an hour to 90 miles an hour, I relaxed in my seat as we got home in a minute. I unbuckled my seat belt and jumped out of the car. I went inside and saw Edward looking at the counter, concentrating hard on some papers in front of him.

"Edward!"

His head snapped up and he smiled when he saw me. Being the overly dramatic 20 year old I was, I ran and jumped into his arms, giggling as he caught me and chuckled.

"I missed you." I sighed as he kissed me with a smile on his face, his strong arms crushing me to him.

"I missed you too." he stated simply and set me down, that gorgeous smile still on his face.

"My day sucked, Alice put me into every store, and I hated it."

He gave me a sympathetic smile, "Well… I had a boring day as well."

I frowned, "I wanted to stay here…"

He smiled and kissed me again slowly, melting all of the tension of my day into it, and finally enjoying something.

He pulled away, giving me a big sigh. "Well, my day had a lot to do with your day, actually."

I cocked my head to the side, "What?"

"Well… I had Alice take you to the mall to distract you… I had some plans to make."

"What plans." I asked sharply and regrettably. He hesitantly pointed to the papers on the counter. I hopped up onto the counter next to his papers.

"Edward? What are these…?"

He took in a breath. "Plane tickets."

I gasped, reaching with a hand to grab them. There were three. One addressed to Bella Swan. One addressed to Renesmee Swan. And another addressed to Edward Cullen.

_All _of them had a marked destination to Forks, Washington.

**I know, not much of a cliffy since it was expected, but I wanted to end it there anyways. I've been getting a lot of PM'S saying how much I HAVE to continue the story.**

**I don't HAVE to do anything. I WANT to finish it… I made a commitment to the story and I don't plan on breaking it. so chill.**

**Chapter question- HORROR, ROMANCE, OR A COMEDY? (MOVIES)**

**REVIEW!!!**


	20. Paranoia, Beauty, and Shovel Dents

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Wow, the response to this story has been HUGE, and I just wanted to give everybody a huge thank you, I never expected to get over a hundred reviews… if even that, you guys rock, and thank you to each and every one of you… you blow my mind away **

**(anonymous reviewer)**

**Teamedward- I promise you, this story is my baby, and I couldn't ever stop it, and I update every three or four days, so no worries.**

**I wanted to say thanks to every reader, I love you like a fat kid loves chocolate **

**Reviewer(s) of the chapter-**

**Harvestmoon18- yay, new reader! Haha, I love babbling… no worries ;) and I want to say the same for the movies, horror just has a certain… charm ;) **

**LoriVampp- one of my regulars **** (am I allowed to call you guys that…?) and yes, the dreaded parents house!**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

**LAST CHAPTER-**

"Edward? What are these…?"

He took in a breath. "Plane tickets."

I gasped, reaching with a hand to grab them. There were three. One addressed to Bella Swan. One addressed to Renesmee Swan. And another addressed to Edward Cullen.

_All _of them had a marked destination to Forks, Washington.

**THIS CHAPTER-**

Do you remember? When you were a child, and your mother and father would tell you about a doctor's appointment. You know, the ones planned specifically to cause you pain by needle. You would sit there rubbing your arm, imagining the pain that would come. You would prep for hours to not be in so much pain when the time came to go, but you screamed anyways and held your mother's hand just _because _of all of the worst case scenarios you thought of. Not because of the actual pain.

Or, when you would get teeth pulled at the dentist, and your parents would tell you two months ahead. You would try to pull them out yourself, just because you were terrified of the needle in your mouth. You didn't like the blood. You didn't like the pain. You didn't like the smell of plastic and toothpaste in the offices. But, what you didn't like the most? Your only reward was a sticker… but that's getting off topic.

Those two scenarios are what I felt like. The pain of the anticipation was killing me. Only, this was worse, because I would rather deal with all of the needles in the world than deal with my parent's rejection. In truth, after talking with Alice, I got a little bit of hope… I didn't know what to think. I _wanted _to see the smiles on their faces that I had missed so much, I _wanted _to reconnect with them.

If I had a second person's opinion, this is what I would think-

"Gee… what kind of idiot is this chick? I mean, she was apprehensive about Edward, and look what happened. Same thing."

I'd say, great observation, there, Sherlock… but, I _have _thought about it before, and I know Edward will be there to calm me down when things get rough. He would be my rock again, and I would love every minute of it.

But, wouldn't anyone be nervous, seeing their parents for the first time in five years…? And I would make my point.

The second party observer would contradict me.

"Yeah, worried is one thing, and being an apprehensive and scared mess is another."

I would say that I didn't care, and it was how I felt, and the second party observer would shrug.

"Gee, Bella, you're so annoying, why would you think your parents hate you? Do you seriously have any mental problems?"

Suck it, I would say, because they don't have to wonder at my life. I guess, I should be thanking Edward for being so accepting.

And Alice. and Nessie. Just… everybody.

Well, I guess the point I was trying to make was that I didn't think that my time was up so soon. I wanted to live in peace with Edward and Nessie for at least a few more days… or weeks.

I sighed and rolled on my back, staring at the ceiling. I bit my lip as I recalled the shopping trip with Alice. Edward had sent me off just so he could plan the flight and explain things to Nessie before we left. I pursed my lips, I trusted Edward with my life, and I trusted him to say all of the right things to Nessie… but I kind of wanted to be there, could you blame me? Maybe I was just being selfish.

I smiled as I thought of it. There was only _one _good thing that could come from this. From seeing my parents. I wouldn't be so damn sexually frustrated. Yes, it was _that _bad. Maybe… no, we were leaving in a couple of days and I could wait if I willed myself to... Truly, I didn't remember what the phone number was, and I had been too embarrassed to make an effort to tell them I was coming. I sighed, glancing at the bags in the corner of the room. I hadn't had any idea that we were shopping for going to my parent's house when Alice took me.

I glared at the midnight blue suit cases; willing them to go away, along with this whole situation. I didn't know how this was going to play out, I guess in the back of my mind, I never saw the inevitable coming. You know, when you know something will eventually happen, but when it does, you're caught off guard. I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands as I childishly stuck my tongue out at the inanimate objects. A couple of days… wow… It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had gone years without seeing them… and now I was only a couple of days away. I felt something stir inside of my stomach. It made me want to puke. It wasn't like the kind of feeling I got when I looked and talked to Edward. This was a nervous feeling… not necessarily _bad,_ just not good.

I groaned as I ignored the time on the clock, and walked downstairs. I made sure to be quiet, as not to wake anyone.

I smiled as I got to the bottom of the stairs. I hopped up onto the granite counter top, the exact spot where my first kiss with Edward had been, and hugged my knees to my chest. My eyes flew to the calendar.

My eyes zeroed in on a spot marked in an alarmingly bright shade of red, and it said- Bella's parents. It was official now… not just something we were talking about. I shivered, completely, and unreasonably, taken off guard by my revelation.

I felt cold, like ice cubes were being spread all over my skin. I shivered again and looked at today's date.

December 17th. I looked, again, at the day we were supposed to leave. December 19th.

I gulped, this wasn't long enough… my eyes glanced to the clock, and, I felt tears prickle my eyes at the new found knowledge that right now, it was the morning of the 18th.

My head sunk into my knees, my silent tears staining my flannel pants and my body shaking with sobs.

Other times when I cried, ironically, Edward would come to comfort me. But, he didn't today, and I was happy for that. I wanted to suffer in silence. I wanted to figure this out on my own because it hurt too much to have someone else make your decisions or fight your battles.

I sniffed roughly as I looked at the clock, 5 am. Wow, that was a while… I angrily wiped the tears clear from my face, knowing that Edward would be up soon. I pulled my knee up to my chest, my face being automatically positioned to look towards the garage.

My eyebrows knitted together, I had been right that day. That day when I thought I heard something. Marcus had been there, and if Edward hadn't scared him away than… I might not be so lucky.

I had put Edward in danger… by coming to his home, but he had saved me, and I was selfishly unrepentant.

I shuddered, having another memory from the garage, but this one a better one. I smiled and bit my lip as I thought of the way Edward had looked coming out of the garage, shirtless. I licked my lips, thinking of all the things I wanted to do when I had gotten through the hell of seeing my parents. But… sadly… I would have to save the fun stuff for later, I had to think about the fact that I was seeing my parents tomorrow.

Did Edward even have their address? Did they still live in the same place? I wasn't sure.

I felt a surge of anxiousness flood my system, and I was surprised at my own reaction. Not that I was going to admit this to anyone, or even myself for that matter, I was actually _excited _ for seeing them. I sighed, was that wrong? Was I wrong to have a part of me wanting to see them, and have another completely horrified on the subject matter?

I groaned, needing to stop thinking about it, Edward was probably going to be up soon. I sighed, sliding from the counter top.

"Ahh!" I had a mini heart attack when I saw Edward just three feet away from me, and he had a soft expression of his face.

"How long have you been standing there?!" my heart beat slowed down and I gripped the counter.

His voice was hurt, "How long have you been down here crying?"

"Um… a while, but I'm okay now…" I was reluctant to tell him just how I was feeling right now, and he knew it and frowned.

He sighed, wrapping me in his strong arms, his comforting hands running up and down my back. I leaned into him, enjoying the silence and welcoming his embrace.

His words were somewhat muffled by my hair.

"Bella, it's not going to be bad at all…"

_My _words were completely silent, and there wasn't a chance he could hear me through his shirt.

"That's what everyone keeps telling me…"

He ran his fingers through my hair, telling me over and over again how everything was going to be okay.

--

My body was stiff throughout the duration of the day, every time I was spoken to, by Edward or Nessie, I gave only the reply that was necessary, and closed myself off.

Tomorrow.

I kept thinking, and that word was the only clear thought in my head.

When we made breakfast, Nessie was telling me about a dream she'd had. I didn't pay here any attention.

Tomorrow.

I glanced at the clock. It was 1 pm. We were all at Alice's house to say goodbye, and to make plans for Alice to meet us in Forks to do some 'Seattle shopping'.

I wasn't even coherent enough to disagree, and next to me, Jasper shifted in his seat.

He leaned into my ear, "Um… Bella… are you alright?"

Tomorrow.

I didn't respond, or couldn't for that matter, but turned my ghostly white face to his to give him a nod and a forced smile.

He sensed that I didn't want to talk, and he went back into the conversation, but not before giving Edward a glance.

Tomorrow.

I shook in my seat, willing this day to be over. Edward's eyes were almost always on me, the concern in them noticeable to even me.

He held me close to his body while talking to Alice, my eyes were glazed over as I robotically ate some of my food.

Tomorrow.

--

The afternoon wasn't any easier than my morning had been. My eyes were glued to Alice's bright pink clock.

I watched as the seconds ticked by, fidgeting in my seat when a minute passed, an hour, I counted down the hours to the 1 pm flight we had.

It was currently 2 pm. 23 hours. I drew in a shaky breath as another second ticked by.

22 hours, and 59 minutes, and 24 seconds until the flight.

I gulped, shoving a piece of popcorn shrimp into my mouth. I had always been a nervous eater.

22 hours, 54 minutes, and 52 seconds.

I gulped for the second time, the world continued on beside me, and my eyes stayed focused on the loud ticking of the clock.

22 hours, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds.

I gulped for a third time. Beside me, Edward squeezed my hand. I vaguely heard Alice's door crack open, and I heard the most recognizable sound made by Emmett.

"AHAHAHAHA! Hel_lo_, earthlings, I AM YOUR LEADER. And this is the leader's wife, the beautiful, Rosalie."

We all rolled out eyes.

He sent her a wink and led her inside, and I sunk in my seat as I heard angelic laughter, along with the sight of… of a woman that deserves the front cover of every magazine in the world.

She was staring at me with a warm smile, her eyes amused at my reaction.

"You're Bella right?" she said with a giggle.

I nodded, still slightly stunned and I little self conscious. She sat down next to me, and distracted me with some conversation. I was actually able to hold a conversation and take my mind off of… tomorrow for a little while.

For a woman so devastatingly beautiful, she was really down to earth and she was really genuine, I actually spared a real smile when talking to her. She was Edward's sister in law and she was really nice.

…although… my self esteem couldn't have been any lower the entire time.

I sighed as she engaged in conversation with Alice, and I, again, let myself find comfort in the warm circle of Edward's arms and glaring at the clock.

19 hours, 34 minutes, and 47 seconds.

I opened my eyes in shock, I spent 3 hours talking to Rosalie. After thinking about it though, I would have to say it was easy to find yourself losing track of time when you were talking to someone as nice and pretty as Rosalie…

I turned my head to the left, burying my head in Edward's chest, wanting everything to be gone. He held me tightly against him, and kissed my forehead gently.

This, combined with the lack of sleep I had gotten yesterday, was making me tired, I yawned.

"Everybody, this has been really fun, but I think Bella needs some rest for tomorrow."

My head rolled to the side to say goodbye to everybody, and I yawned again. Everyone gave me drowsy hugs goodbye and I leaned into Edward on our way out to the car.

--

I woke up the next morning, and nearly screamed when I realized that I would see my parents.

Today.

Today.

Today.

Today.

Today.

After years and years…. _Today._

I felt something unfamiliar bubble up inside of me. It made me queasy… I didn't like it.

I crushed my head into my pillow, wanting to drown inside of it. I gulped, looking in the pillow, and blinking, enjoying the weird feeling of my eyelashes running across the blue silk.

I looked at the clock.

10 fucking o clock. My mouth dropped open.

Th-t-thr-thre-three hours…

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed at the clock, rather loudly I would say, and looked at the door when Edward ran in.

"What is it, Bella?!"

He let out a breath, "You sounded like you just got run over by a car…"

"Three hours?! We leave in three hours?" I was shaking.

"Technically… our flight only leaves in three hours. It'll take two or three hours to get there."

"No shit, Sherlock…"

Edward, despite my glares, chuckled at me, gathering me up in his arms and lifting me off the bed, and pulling me downstairs.

I gulped again when I noticed all of the bags at the door.

Edward noticed my discomfort, and rubbed his hand on my arm, giving me tingles and some reassurance.

"When do we leave?" I asked nervously.

"One hour."

I unintentionally whimpered, embarrassing, angry tears slid down my face, and I felt like hitting something.

I balled my hands into fists, feeling violent all of a sudden.

"So soon…" despite my anger, my voice was barely audible.

"Yes Bella, trust me, this'll all be okay." I gave him a weak smile as he tried to reassure me.

--

We spent that hour loading bags into Edward's Volvo and I was agitated the whole time. Nessie was bounding in her seat, elated to finally experience her first plane trip, and to see her mysterious grandparents.

I sighed, I was trying to figure out the best way to introduce her to them. Would it be best to have her wait at the hotel?

With who… Alice wasn't here… I sighed, she wasn't always going to be there, and I had to get used to that.

Edward hummed to a song I didn't recognize on the way to the airport. I drew in a shaky breath.

1 hour, 46 minutes, and an unknown number of seconds.

I rubbed my temples with my hands. _That's only take off…_ I kept saying to myself, but, in truth, the actually meeting with my parents couldn't be closer than it was now.

We got to the airport in a shorter time than what I wanted. I glared at the dash and crossed my arms as Edward gathered out things, and Nessie jumped out of the car.

Edward opened my door and waited expectantly for me to get out. I didn't, he pursed his lips and leaned towards my ear.

His voice was smooth, "The faster we get this over with… the faster we get to the second part of our deal…"

I was out of the car in seconds and he smirked.

Nessie skipped to the doors as we fast walked to keep up with her. She never got too far ahead, so I never got too worried.

**A/N- she's lucky… my mom used to hate taking me in public places because I'd get lost. Now she has a 'never farther than 4 feet rule…' you think I'm joking….**

Considering I had been on a plane once, I left the directions to Edward, who took us to a long line, where we waited behind tons of people behind a sign.

'Alaskan Airlines.'

I groaned at our proximity, or lack thereof, to the front counter. Nessie wasn't too keen on waiting either, so she pulled out some electronic game that Alice must have gotten her as we made our way to the front of the line at snails pace.

When we got up there, the woman at the counter gave Edward a once over, making me growl a little, and he chuckled while she looked embarrassed, damn right she should…

So, what I learned, was, that after waiting at this incredibly long line, all you get to do is weigh your bags and give them to them?

"What is that… can't you just throw them into the plane or something?"

Edward rolled his eyes at me as he lead us into a gate. I sighed as I sank down into the black leather chair, Edward and Nessie on either side of me.

Edward pulled out a couple of magazines for the wait, and I shook my head, too anxious to read.

I was staring off at the wall when I felt a slight tingling sensation on my left knee. My eyes darted down to see Edward's hand there, his thumb rubbing soothing and small circles on the underside.

My heart surged from a move so… touching… I glanced up at his face, to see him intently focused on the magazine.

I chewed on my lip, smiling, as I thought about his thoughtful and sweet gesture.

I loved the fact that even when distracted, he took the time to concern for my well being. I smiled again.

I sighed, content, just focusing on something heavenly for once.

My eyes fluttered open again, and I looked at Nessie, transfixed on her game. My eyes lowering to Edward's hand.

I smiled. I looked at the screen with a clock. 37 minutes to take off. I felt Edward's hand apply some more pressure and slide a bit higher.

I looked at his face, he still seemed engrossed by his magazine. My eyes stayed locked on his hand, the movements now in his fingers as he stroked my thigh.

I bit my lip as he continued his ministrations, and I suddenly felt myself needing more. I fought to keep still, though. As if hearing my silent plea, his fingers moved to my inner thigh, stroking the skin through my jeans.

He still seemed fully engrossed in what he was reading, but, he had been on the same, short page when he started rubbing my knee.

He was applying more pressure, and I, without even giving it a second thought, spread my legs open a little wider, urging him to continue his hand's original path.

I saw him smirk down to his magazine, and gave my inner thigh a firm squeeze before withdrawing his hand, flipping the page of his magazine, leaving me high and dry and gaping.

My eyes drifted down to where his hand had been, and I glared at the spot, I missed the warmth where his hand had been.

"Boarding for first class."

Edward shut his magazine, and Nessie, like a robot, got up and walked with Edward to the line of people in first class wanting to board.

I knew enough about planes to know that this was expensive. And I knew even more about Edward, which meant that arguing on taking Coach was pointless.

I sighed, following them to the line.

--

The flight to Washington took three hours, and I was anxious the whole day. I wasn't familiar with this feeling… I didn't know why I was anxious.

Well… I did, but I wasn't ready to admit it yet.

When we got off of the plane, it was 4 o clock. And, to my intense relief, Edward said we would see my parents the following day, once we got situated at the hotel.

We drove to the hotel in a rental car, and I was a bit relieved that I had tonight to think some other stuff through… and of course gain more time to persuade Edward that we should go back to Chicago.

I had to admit, the chances were slim… actually, lower than that.

E.P.O.V.

Once we had gotten to the hotel, Bella fell asleep, and Nessie was on her twin sized bed, legs crossed, and playing her Nintendo D.S.

I smiled and gently kissed her forehead, tucking Bella inside of her sheets.

I swear, this girl sleeps more than anyone I had ever known, but if possible, I loved her even more for it. I was trying to make this as easy for her as possible. I admit, maybe I laid it on too strong at the airport.

But, it distracted her; _that _much was plain and simple. I sighed, Bella was way too nervous about this.

Okay, I wasn't being fair, if Carlisle or Esme hadn't seen me in years, I'd be scared as hell, but tomorrow, I would make her see that she had nothing to worry about.

I briefly thought about calling the police to get a hold of Charlie, but laughed, what a conversation _that _would be. Calling the police to tell the chief I have his daughter…? For some reason, I feel like that wouldn't work well for me.

I fell asleep next to Bella that night, yawning.

--

B.P.O.V.

There it was. The pale house with green shudders, less than 20 feet away. I felt tears fill my eyes as I took in the overgrown shrubbery, and the chipped paint.

There weren't any lights on. I looked to the corner of the house, and sobbed when I saw the dent which I put there with a shovel by accident.

This was it. I looked to Edward, who took my hand and squeezed it. Both Nessie and Edward were silent, waiting for me to soak everything in.

We sat like that in the car for about 20 minutes.

I nodded to Edward, who hesitantly got out of the rental car and helped me and Nessie out.

We slowly walked to the door.

Edward stood in front, and I stood behind him, my body poking out from behind him as I clutched his arm, Nessie wildly grasping for Edward's other side, following my lead.

With a shaky hand, I raised my hand, and placed three firm and loud knocks on the door.

We waited for a while, and I raised my hand to knock again.

The knob on the door clicked and turned.

**Okay- if you're a mother, I want to know your insight on how you think it should go, I've asked tons of people, but I want to get all of the reactions right, so throw in your two cents and let me know if you want them to have any certain or strong emotion.**

**So… leave a review telling me the reactions you want.**

**Chapter question- SODA OR TEA?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	21. Realizing the Obvious and Unfair Glares

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Hey, I'm so sorry I haven't updated. The reason isn't because I couldn't come up with anything… **

**MY BEST FRIEND WHO I ONLY SEE THREE TIMES A YEAR SURPRISED ME FOR A SURPRISED VISIT.**

**I cried when I saw her there, it topped any present I had ever been given.**

**So… I'm sorry, but in actuality, I should be sleeping due to the lack there of in my life… but I needed to write, again… sorry, but thanks for sticking with me… :)**

**Hey readers! Thanks for all of the feedback on the last chapter, it all helped me and I loved it all.**

**Thanks so much for everything!**

**Reviewer(s) of the chapter-**

**Miki natsuko- thanks for the ideas, on my first draft of this, I went off of your review to write the parents meeting, and in the end, it turned out great, and you helped a lot!... but, my mind kept telling me that this chapter needed… a new idea. Oh, you'll see :) haha, anyways, thanks and you helped come up with this chapter.**

**(go you!)**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

**LAST CHAPTER-**

This was it. I looked to Edward, who took my hand and squeezed it. Both Nessie and Edward were silent, waiting for me to soak everything in.

We sat like that in the car for about 20 minutes.

I nodded to Edward, who hesitantly got out of the rental car and helped me and Nessie out.

We slowly walked to the door.

Edward stood in front, and I stood behind him, my body poking out from behind him as I clutched his arm, Nessie wildly grasping for Edward's other side, following my lead.

With a shaky hand, I raised my hand, and placed three firm and loud knocks on the door.

We waited for a while, and I raised my hand to knock again.

The knob on the door clicked and turned.

**THIS CHAPTER-**

B.P.O.V.

Hmm… it was like kinder garden. Yeah. That's what it was like. It was like your first day of kinder garden, and you were worried about making friends. There was always that one bully that got under your skin.

Hmm… I guess you could use elementary school, middle school, or high school too… maybe even college.

All I know, is that it was like a school. The bully. It was like the bully, the ever intimidating bully that stole your lunch money and tripped you in the hallways.

He was the one that you were afraid of. The one you ran away from. The one you were scared of.

I remembered the feeling of being so scared of someone. I had felt it many times, it didn't bother me much, there was, in fact, a long list of things that scared me.

Marcus Dellings. (Before and after)

Alice in the mall with a wallet. (During Christmas seasons, or birthdays)

Emmett and food. (…Anytime…)

_Myself _attacking Edward. (I only had so much self control)

Cannibals.

Childbirth.

Strangers.

But. Let me tell you. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ compares to the feeling when your parents are angry or disappointed in you. Nothing can prepare you for the pain and anxiety you feel when your parents look at you with… that one look.

The look that says, 'I invested and spent decades of my time on you… and you do insert bad thing here'

The part that I remember the most, is that the punishment was much easier to handle than your parents' disappointment.

Sure, we all experienced the mild disappointments.

Forgetting to feed the goldfish.

Knocking over the expensive china.

Picking the rare flowers from mom's garden.

Breaking the TV while dad was watching the game.

Eating a cookie out of the cookie jar.

Breaking into the N.B.O.D. (National Bank of Dad.)

Not cleaning your room.

Not doing your chores.

Sleeping through first period, even. (sometimes)

Hell, we could list a mountain. But, the closest you will get to seeing my opinion of seeing my parents is this.

Compare that list, what most kids do, to the list _I _have, and you'll understand my apprehension more. My list of bad deeds wasn't nearly as mild as a normal teens would be.

Getting knocked up by a psycho.

Giving birth on a park bench.

Stealing a dog.

Getting involved with a guy who kills cannibals.

Getting _kidnapped _by the said cannibals.

Running away at 15.

Ruining lives.

Can we just all admit that my evasiveness is understandable? The most upsetting thing about this is that most of those things weren't even my fault.

I sighed as the door creaked open, closing my eyes, wanting to be unnoticed.

I shivered and ducked into Edward as the door opened.

I took in a big gulp, peering over Edward's shoulder, but hiding. I was shocked to see a small woman opened the door, I didn't know her. My brow creased, who was she…?

You know the kind of tyrannical women who had the crease in their brow, and you just… knew they were the most disagreeable person you will ever lay eyes on? The kind that looked like a Nazi?

That is how she looked as she hunched over, pulling her threadbare blanket over her scrawny, middle aged shoulders. She was trying to protect herself… I gave a sympathetic smile.

"What?!" her hoarse voice barked at us. Although her voice was rough and tough, her shaking form told us that she was scared.

They weren't here.

I leaned up to Edward, "See? They aren't here, let's go."

I turned and he grabbed my arm, forcing me to resume my position. It turned out my horrid attempt at trying to dissuade him from our already set plans wasn't about to fool him.

I groaned as the woman glared at us.

"What do you need?!" she barked again and Edward grimaced when I didn't answer for myself.

I was a coward. He gulped, "Yes… um… do you know a Renee and Charlie Swan?" He asked.

The woman straightened for a moment, her face softening. She looked kind of reluctant to say anything.

She sighed, looking around, and then she turned to us.

"Who wants to know?" she asked.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

"Please?" I asked, desperate.

She pursed her lips, and then, it looks like she reluctantly spoke.

"What do you want with them?"

I sighed, stepping meekly in front of Edward.

"We need to speak with them… we need to know what… what happened." I said, hoping she understood.

Her almond eyes narrowed and she pursed her thin lips, she sucked in an annoyed breath, pondering something.

Finally, she broke her silence and leaned one hand on her hip as she stepped back inside.

"Come in." she said sharply, motioning us to go inside.

Taking caution, Edward stepped forward first, into the house, and looked around, the woman plopped herself down on the couch and then I followed, clutching our daughter in my arms.

The woman turned to us with an annoyed expression.

"Come come, sit sit! This will take a while and I don't have all day!"

She gestured to the couch opposite of the table. I was frozen where I was, looking around the house with wide eyes.

"Whoa…" I said, quiet, everything was… different. The original furnishings and paint color were exactly the same.

The couch that Edward was sitting in was the same. My eyes shot to the kitchen. The juice stain that I made when I was little still faintly showed on the cupboards. The carpeting where I was standing still had a small ring of dirt where I played 'mud pies' and the vacuum couldn't get it.

The stairs still had the wooden railing that I used to slide down, the one that I always fell off of and got reprimanded for doing it.

The ceiling still had the carving of the moon that my dad made when I was seven and he bet _anything _that mom wouldn't find out and he was right.

The slight tear in the carpet next to the stairs that I stuffed a block into was still there.

The pale yellow fake roses were still in the middle of the glass kitchen table where mom would always scold me for getting fingerprints on.

Mom's version of Starry Night was still on the wall next to the kitchen table, and dad's TV was still black and dusty.

With my memories swirling around my head as fast and frequent as they were, I barely noticed Edward looking at me, worried.

I took a deep breath as Edward gave me a sympathetic smile, pulling me down next to him.

I hid myself, and my daughter, in the comfort of his side and the arm that was draped over my shoulders, and twirling a piece of both Nessie's and my hair.

I gulped.

"Why does a couple so young want to hear a story so sad?" the old lady looked confused, and her eyes kept drifting to Nessie, she obviously thought that Nessie was too young to hear this.

I pursed my lips, getting annoyed. I looked at Nessie, could she handle hearing this? I didn't have anywhere else to put her. If Alice was here… no. Alice _wasn't _here, that was the point. By the look on Edward's face, he agreed.

She could listen, I bit my lip, "We'll explain later."

She nodded tightly, obviously disagreeing but thankfully trusting out judgement.

She gulped. "It all starts precisely twenty years ago, when Renee and Charlie moved in here, with their child, Bella. Bella grew older, got a job, and got more independent."

I knew that.

"When Bella was 15, she went to work one day… and she didn't come back."

I knew that too.

She glared at the wall, "Her parents were devastated. But, there was something incredibly sad about it, her mother, Renee, disappeared the same day."

My eyes widened. First, because they were… devastated?

Did I really hurt them that much? I didn't think I had hurt them at _all_. Maybe I was wrong…

Second because she has said that mom had disappeared on… the same day…

Wait?! Why… I remembered that day… she was just jogging… how… why…

"No! why! What happened to her?!" I was panting and Edward was listening to the story as intently and confusedly as I was.

"Hold on child!" she snapped at me as silent tears ran down my face.

"W-what happened to Charlie…" I asked, needing to know.

"Heavens… he's a mess, I mean, could you imagine, not only part, but _all _of his family disappeared. On the same day no less. I swear, if I ever found them…"

"Where is Charlie now." I asked.

"Oh! He lives down in Port Angeles, 'e said the place got too depressing. Now I live here."

"… well, who are you…?"

She shook her head, "I should be asking you that question… but, my name doesn't matter," she examined our faces for a moment.

"Hey… are you guys in some sort of trouble or something… do you need 'is help?"

"Yes." We said in sync, and she rose her eyebrows.

"Well then, I guess you ought to be on your way."

She wrote down what I hoped to be my father's address and I eagerly took it into my hands. We quickly thanked the… woman for her help, and went to the car, I picked up Nessie and just put her in the front seat with me as Edward put in the address into the Garmin.

"Mom is gone…" I kept saying, burying my face in Nessie's hair, coating my cheeks with tears as Edward drove.

What had happened to her? Was it _my _fault that she left?

I leaned my head onto the headrest of the Volvo as I silently asked God 'why?'

I was shaking as Edward drove.

"Bella… It wasn't your fault."

I glared at the dash, "How would you know… all evidence points to the conclusion that everything is my fault. I mean, my _mother_… Edward, I ruined two lives."

He pursed his lips, "That may be true, but you saved two others." He gestured to himself and Nessie.

I sobbed harder, rocking myself and Nessie back and forth as Edward sighed.

We stopped in a long line of traffic. I growled at the windshield. I stomped my foot lightly on the carpeted floor of the car, only seeing the blurry outlines of the cars in front of us through my tears.

"Bella… we're going to see your father. You should be happy…"

He spoke softly, and I turned to him, a soft expression on my face.

"We'll figure it out somehow," I sniffed, "Right?"

Edward nodded encouragingly, stroking the back of my hand with his.

Edward pulled off into the road, swerving more than necessary and pulled into a nearly deserted street where the GPS told him to go.

He continued driving until we saw a creepy white house, devoid of anything home-like or soothing.

I gulped, "This isn't it… is it?"

He sighed, gravely nodding his head as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

I sucked in a big breath of air, pulling Nessie out of the car, debating leaving her here, but in this neighborhood… no.

I clutched her to me as we silently approached the door.

Edward looked at me, trying to judge whether I was ready to knock. Slightly queasy, I nodded, and placed three heavy knocks on the door. We didn't have any time to mess around with my… desire to not have the door opened.

My breath caught as I heard heavy footsteps coming in from the inside. I looked at Edward, who looked pretty shocked that someone lived in this… home. And that person might be my father.

My feet moved on their own accord, I didn't have power over them, they moved in front of Edward, eager to see what I hoped to be my father.

The door made some sound that resembled a truck, and the door swung open.

I gasped, my eyes widened. I felt tears graze my cheek as I looked at the slumped figure in front of me.

E.P.O.V.

The man in front of me was not well kept, either he had always been like this, or he had let himself go badly… just like his house.

He had on wrinkled clothing, a red plaid shirt with some worn out jeans.

His eyes were glued to the cement, and he had a bad mustache.

I was hoping that this was Bella's father, which, judging by the look on her face, I could go ahead and presume it was.

She just stood there, her wide eyes red with tears. He hadn't even taken a look at her yet.

I nudged Bella, bringing her out of her shocked state, she looked at me, nervous.

I sighed, I would have to take this into my own hands.

"Charlie Swan?" I asked lightly.

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. His stare was blank, I guided Bella forward, and his gaze locked on hers.

At first, his eyes took on hurt, but then recognition crossed his features.

His face turned white, his eyes went wide, and his shuffling feet came to a halt.

"B-B-Bella… i-is that… y-you?" he asked.

She sobbed, pain covering her features.

"D-dad…" she managed to make out with a crack.

She jumped on him, her legs swinging lightly in the air as she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. His hands crushed her to him as he looked at her, a slight smile on his lips and his eyes wide with shock.

He closed his eyes, rubbing her back.

"Bella… back… Bella… back…" he kept repeating and I saw tears in his eyes.

I picked up Renesmee as she struggled to get into the hug. I waited too long for this to have it cut short by my daughter.

I rubbed her back as she pouted at me. I don't know how long I waited there for them. I didn't know how long Bella was in his arms. I didn't know what time it was.

But she was happy. So that only made me want the time to stop, and let this moment last forever, no matter how bored Nessie was. Bella needed this.

"But _I _wanna hug grandpa too!" Nessie folded her arms across her chest and Charlie froze.

Bella's eyes shot open just about the same time that Charlie's did. I gulped and Nessie fidgeted in my arms.

Bella turned around, but Charlie locked his arms around her, pulling her against his chest but he still looked like he was confused.

Bella's eyes grew wide and she bit her lip.

Charlie's eyes grew horrified and lethal as he looked at his daughter, and then to me, and then to his granddaughter.

His eyes looked back to Bella in shock and rage, and they stayed there for a moment, before his nostrils flared, and he turned his glare to me.

"You… you… you took Bella from me! Bella?! Who the hell does he think he is to take my daughter away!"

His lips pulled over his teeth and I was shocked.

I looked at Bella and Nessie, and then understood why he was so chagrined. He thought I impregnated Bella and made her run away… I vaguely wondered if I had any chances of living before I got to explain what really happened.

By the look on his face, the chances were slim.

I gulped, instinct kicking in and I leaned Nessie on my hip farthest away from him.

Bella soon realized his too, and she twisted back around, "Uh… Dad?" she asked through muffled tears, and he forgot about me for a moment, much to my relief, and looked at her with pure joy in his eyes. I suddenly felt prideful.

"Yeah, baby." He asked her, stroking her cheek, I smiled as I realized that this is what she called Nessie. It drew her closer to her parents.

She smiled too, letting one solitary tear slide down her cheek.

"Uh… can we all talk inside?" she gestured to me and Nessie and he protectively tucked her under his arm, pulling her inside.

I gulped and walked in after them, shutting the door after Nessie was in.

Charlie guided Bella over to a ratty couch, and intimidated me over to the other chair with Nessie.

He stood up reluctantly. He looked at Bella with instant happiness again.

"Erm… Bella, would you like something to drink?" he said, making sure that I knew the offer was only to Bella.

Bella frowned at him. I clutched Nessie to me as Bella shook her head, and he came to sit by her again, giving me one last glare.

I grinned as I saw Bella curl up into her father's side like a child, and him wrap his arms around her and rest his head on hers like it was an everyday occurrence.

I smiled as I realized that _this_ is why Bella liked to curl up into my side sometimes, it brought her that home-like comfort.

I was more than happy to provide it for her.

"So… how did you get here?"

Bella let out a breath of air, "We went to our old house first, and there was a woman there who gave us this address… and here we are." He nodded.

Charlie gave me one last undeserved glare before sighing.

"So… dad…" Bella smiled as she said that. I smiled too. they looked so normal… it was amazing.

"Okay. Tell me the story. Tell me why you just ran away five years ago, and never came back. Tell me why you show up _now_, and with a strange man and a child that looks exactly like you."

He glared at me and I chuckled, "Well… sir, I really didn't-"

"I asked Bella." He said sharply, and I groaned as Bella glared at him now.

"Edward didn't do anything wrong, daddy." Her voice was innocent and child like and I smiled, despite the current situation.

"Oh… _Edward_… didn't do anything… sure…" he grumbled, barely audible. Now _he _sounded like a child as he glared at me unfairly.

Bella groaned, crossing her arms, "Fine. But you'll see that you're being unfair."

He rolled his eyes, "Sure. Bella, the situation is pretty self explanatory."

Bella pursed her lips, she opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head at her, nothing, except for telling the story was going to make him any more just in his ways.

She huffed. "Okay… so… I don't really know how to begin."

Charlie's expression turned soft. "Start from five years ago. That day… that you didn't come home from work." He mumbled the last part, and fiddled with his thumbs as sadness colored his gruff features.

Bella's expression turned vacant as she stared off into space, recalling the very day he was talking about.

"I went to work… everything was normal, well, as far as I knew… I went to work. I stopped bussing tables to clock out. It was just like any other day, but that day, my boss, Mr. Dells called me into his office, and gave me a raise. I remember being so siked." Bella looked at the window, living in the memory. Charlie had tears in his eyes as he pulled Bella closer to him, never wanting to have her gone again. I knew the feeling.

I gave her a sympathetic smile that I knew she couldn't see. It didn't matter though, I sighed, Bella shot me a smile and her dad looked between us skeptically, and glared at me again.

"And… I waited outside for mom to pick me up… it… it was thirty minutes after I clocked out, and she wasn't there."

Charlie looked like he was calculating something in his head, he looked confused.

"So… I called her, and she was out of breath, I assumed she was jogging so I shrugged it off and decided I would walk."

Charlie crossed his arms around Bella angrily, beginning to look a little bit sad with tears in his eyes. Bella looked the same.

She gulped, "I was so happy, I decided I wanted to take the short way home, and I rounded the corner of 78th street… when…" Bella's tears grew more pronounced. "I was… r-ra-raped." She took a deep breath.

I frowned when Charlie looked at me with a crazed expression that said, 'I'm going to kill you. And even if I get sentenced to jail for life, it'll be worth it.' His grip on Bella tightened as I saw his hatred for me solidify.

Why couldn't we just tell him right away that I would never rape her? His gaze was making me uncomfortable, and I shifted in my seat. Charlie's breathing was labored.

"Um… I won't go through all of the details, but, before you do anything rash," she said upon seeing Charlie's unneeded rage on me, "It wasn't Edward."

Charlie looked shocked at hearing that.

"It… wasn't?" he looked plainly confused now.

Bella rolled her teary eyes and shook her head. "No. It was a man named Marcus Dellings."

Charlie leaned back in his seat, taking this all in, "So… what happened then…"

He looked to her, "Well… I was a pregnant 15 year old. That's what happened." I could see that she wanted to roll her eyes at the absurdity of having to explain something so obvious. I could understand though, I mean, it had to be a lot for him.

He pursed his lips, "Why didn't you come home."

Bella sighed, playing with her fingers. "I was embarrassed… I thought you guys would be better off."

Bella looked away, clearly embarrassed, he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, silencing all of her doubts with one word that hung in the air like glass.

"Never."

The room was quiet for a moment, all of us taking in what was happening, giving us some much needed time.

Bella gulped, giving her father a sweet kiss on the cheek and sniffling out, "Thanks dad." Her voice cracked.

He smiled at her, "So… I ran. I had my daughter," she gestured to Nessie, "Renesmee, and I ran." She bit her lip.

For the first time, Charlie's gaze was fixed upon her in wonder, she gave him one of her cute little smiles. His eyes widened, she would have him wrapped around her little fingers in no time. Just like me.

He looked at Bella and chewed on his lip, a trait which Bella possessed. I smiled.

I gingerly held her out to him and he then narrowed his eyes at me, before taking Renesmee into his grip. He smiled as he kissed her little head. He rocked her back and forth as she giggled in his lap, giving him a big hug.

"Hey Grandpa!" she obviously didn't think about not laying anything on too strongly. I rolled my eyes.

His eyes widened, and he shook his head in shock before hugging her again. He let out a breathless chuckle, looking at Bella incredulously as he patted my little girl's back.

"What was her name again?" he asked Bella. He looked shocked at being a grandfather. Again, I could understand that a little.

"Renesmee." Bella and I said in unison. He smiled.

"Renesmee… hello." He looked at her and she beamed at her.

She beamed back, and then looked to her mother, "Mamma! This is just so _cool,_ I mean, first I had you, then I got a daddy," she pointed to me and I smiled, while Charlie glowered, "and now I have a grandpa now! This is the best!"

He sighed, then shook his head in disbelief before rubbing Nessie's back and pulling Bella closer. He glared at me as he held my girls. I gave him a weak smile which he disregarded.

"So… how does… _Edward _fit into this?" he asked Bella.

Bella pulled Nessie onto her lap, she was sandwiched in between them.

"I'm getting there." Nessie slouched into their grip, and I suddenly felt very vulnerable in Charlie's intense gaze.

I cleared my throat and Bella took the queue to continue.

"Um… so, I ran, and we spent three years on our own. Nessie turns four in May. And we survived alright…" Charlie nodded stiffly, it was apparent that he felt like he wanted to have taken care of her. Just like me.

Charlie narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, obviously feeling cheated out of helping her. Just like me.

"And, I'll skip some stuff, one day, Nessie was feeling extremely horrid, looks right along with it. I… I thought… I thought she was going to… _die_. I would've died too," she had tears in her eyes and Nessie gave her a hug, "She was everything I had at the moment." She said with a small glance at me.

He silently urged her to continue. He was completely engrossed in her story. Just like me.

She gulped, "… So, then," she smiled, "I met Edward. He chivalrously offered me his services, as the head doctor at the local hospital. He saved her life. He saved mine. He took me into his home, a teenager with a daughter that he didn't know. He was so hospitable and took care of us, he made sure our needs were met and he excused my temper. Oh, and he convinced me to come and see you today." Charlie's mouth was open at that.

I looked at the floor, but was pulled up by Charlie into a bone crushing hug.

Stunned, I was barely able to hug him back. He pulled back and sat down. He gave me a smile.

"I'm… sorry Edward. I owe you more than I can put into words." He nodded to me, giving me a genuine smile.

I smiled back, thankful that the glares were gone. I sighed in relief for that fact.

Bella sighed, "Long story short, Marcus Dellings, the rapist, kidnapped both of us, thankfully leaving Nessie at home, and Alice, Edward's equally amazing sister, came to our rescue, and got Marcus in jail for life." Charlie looked a little bit satisfied at that, but it was obvious that he wanted him to have more punishment. Just like me.

He nodded with a crease in his brow, obviously trying to take this all in with ease. I commended him… in all seriousness, if my daughter had been away for five years, and came back telling me her trying life stories when I know I could've done something to help her, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

I understood to some extent.

"Oh yeah, and I got kidnapped by four cannibals before that, which Edward saved me from…" Charlie's brow creased further.

Charlie's eyes widened, "And we stole their dog, Jacob. That's just about it…" he raised his eyebrows.

Charlie tried to take that all in, obviously confused.

"What…"

He asked me, I clarified, "It was all connected though, Marcus hired the cannibals. You see, Marcus apparently went to high school with Bella." Charlie's eyes widened upon my saying this.

"He did… Bella… did he ever harass you before that… day…" he asked her, looking her straight in the eye.

"No… well… I knew he had a crush on me, and I knew that I didn't like it, but he was too shy to talk to me so I didn't care. I didn't take any classes with him…"

He nodded, then closed his eyes, and then opened them to nod at me to continue talking.

Charlie pursed his lips. "And he…" I pursed my own lips, "Liked Bella, to put it lightly, so that was the outcome."

He nodded slowly, still processing. "So… basically, what you're trying to tell me is that Bella was raped by a guy who had a crush on her in high school, had a child, met you, thankfully, got kidnapped by Marcus, got saved by his sister… Alice, and got kidnapped by four cannibals and stole their dog…?" he looked like he had a large difficulty saying this.

We nodded.

He let out a deep breath, eyes wide, and rubbed his knees.

"O…kay. Thank you Edward." I nodded slightly.

That was the story. But… it almost felt like… there were two stories. No… that was a bad way to explain it. It felt like we had pieced together the border of the puzzle, and the middle was missing.

It felt like it wasn't finished.

But… it also felt finished…?

Somehow, though, it still didn't make complete sense in my mind. How would Marcus know so much about Bella. I mean, he could've stalked her, but how would he know her route home?

It wasn't logical, how would he have known the exact moment that she would be walking home, and be fully prepared to rape her?

He had to have had some sort of an accomplice in this whole mess… would he have known the guards then…? No, he would have been in high school, that wouldn't make sense either.

There had to be a way that it all made sense. Besides, Bella stayed after work that day to get her raise. How would he have known that she was getting a raise and staying late…?

My mind ran over the conversation that she and I had about it.

I remembered the first conversation… that didn't give me anything…

I thought about the more in depth conversation we had.

_Flashback-_

"_Okay… um…my favorite color is midnight blue and um… about my story, you can guess that I didn't tell you the whole thing…"_

"_That's the assumption I was going on, yes."_

"_I didn't leave out much, but as you know, I got a raise, called my mom, and, I really don't care to elaborate on the rest."_

_I nodded. "So I got the raise, my boss, Mike, got a phone call. I guess he sounded kind of distressed, telling whoever he was conversing with to 'get the job done and not to mess it up!' I didn't pay much attention to it and quickly called my mom."_

_I felt like my mind wanted to tell her to stop but I had no idea why, I brushed it off._

_She paused, "She didn't actually __say__ she was jogging, but it was implied, she jogged every day and I walked home about half the time so I was pretty happy. You know the rest."_

_Something she had said struck me as odd but I didn't know what, like my brain was satisfied with her answers but I was unsettled by something as well._

_She seemed to notice and turned to face me with concern in her eyes, "What's wrong?"_

"_Uh… nothing I guess…"_

_End flashback-_

I hadn't realized until now that my assumption that something was wrong was correct until now.

I frowned, thinking about it now. Why would her mother have forgotten about her? She was out of breath? Was she…?

This didn't add up.

I was knocked out of my reverie by Bella, "So… is mom here?" she asked.

Charlie shed another tear, "She disappeared the same day you did, Bella, I haven't seen either of you in five years."

I had forgotten about that. By the look on Bella's face, so had she. We both blinked and Charlie sighed. This family reunion hadn't gone the way I planned… I wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

That also didn't make sense. "Bella?" I asked robotically.

"Yeah, Edward?" she said, probably still thinking of her mother because of the shocked look on her face.

I gulped, "What did you say your bosses name was again?"

She looked confused at my asking this. She cocked her head to the side and spoke uncertainly.

"Uh… Mike Dells." Bella said, then went on to talk to her father about her mother.

Mike Dells. Huh, this didn't make sense. The name… it… it was, I don't know, it felt like it was necessary in some way or another… but I didn't know how or why.

Why would Bella's mom have disappeared on the same day as Bella had? Why did Marcus know where to find Bella? Why did Mike Dells give Bella a raise that day and seem so stressed about a phone call?

Dells… Dellings.

Mike… Marcus.

My eyes widened as I thought of a conversation we had had with Marcus… could this…?!

_Flashback-_

_He shot me a demented, half smile, I shivered in disgust, "He… is kind of like me in a way or two. He wanted a girl in high school, and so did I."_

_He ran his finger along my jaw line and Edward pulled me back, taking away Marcus's hand._

_I shot him a grateful glance and Marcus shot Edward a glare._

"_So… you wanted the same girl or what?" I asked, Edward sighed, he looked confused too now…_

"_No, well… I guess that's one way of putting it."_

"_Yes…?" I asked, thoroughly confused._

"_Well, they were mother/daughter."_

_I sighed, "And what happened then? Why didn't it work out?" I was sort of intrigued._

" _It almost did… My father told me to go and… somehow __attain__ both women." He said, smirking to no one in particular._

"_Pig…" Edward and I seemed to whisper at the same time, by the look on his face, he was planning on more than 'attaining' them…_

_End flashback-_

**Oh… did I do alright? I tried to make it perfect… so, yeah, sorry for the late update, my best friend came to visit me and I only started on it this morning… so this is the outcome.**

**I'm sorry I fooled all of you with the whole parent meeting thing… I didn't think this would be how it would work out, but it did, so thanks for bearing with me!**

**Chapter question- DREAM JOB?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	22. He's Right and She's Paranoid

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

**Okay, I just want to say thank you for all of the buzz for last chapter, I had so much fun reading how everyone stayed up late reading them, or got in trouble because they cussed in front of the computer…**

**It's all wonderful, and I love it, thank you!**

**Aww… Angel27eyes was upset that she doesn't get an honorable mention anymore… so… here it is? Ill even repeat your name over and over!**

**Angel27eyes**

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**1.)Vampirelizgurl- okay, your new nickname for this story is the reason I put you first! My heart beat extra fast when I read your review. I read it six? Seven? Eight? Times…?**

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**3.)Night Orchid- freaking fantastic is one of my favorite adjectives! Ha-ha, and your analogy of first graders was funny, 'all those little sponges sitting there with wide eyes and hungry to learn.'**

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**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

**LAST CHAPTER-**

Dells… Dellings.

Mike… Marcus.

My eyes widened as I thought of a conversation we had had with Marcus… could this…?!

_Flashback-_

_He shot me a demented, half smile, I shivered in disgust, "He… is kind of like me in a way or two. He wanted a girl in high school, and so did I."_

_He ran his finger along my jaw line and Edward pulled me back, taking away Marcus's hand._

_I shot him a grateful glance and Marcus shot Edward a glare._

"_So… you wanted the same girl or what?" I asked, Edward sighed, he looked confused too now…_

"_No, well… I guess that's one way of putting it."_

"_Yes…?" I asked, thoroughly confused._

"_Well, they were mother/daughter."_

_I sighed, "And what happened then? Why didn't it work out?" I was sort of intrigued._

" _It almost did… My father told me to go and… somehow __attain__ both women." He said, smirking to no one in particular._

"_Pig…" Edward and I seemed to whisper at the same time, by the look on his face, he was planning on more than 'attaining' them…_

_End flashback-_

**THIS CHAPTER-**

B.P.O.V. (before Edward had all of his crazy flashbacks and revelations…)

I felt like a normal daughter… somewhat. You know the kind that you see in movies. I actually _felt _like that. hmm… it was like… to my intense surprise, I couldn't come up with a way this felt and that was odd for me. I always knew what to feel, I was always certain of what something felt like… but I felt at a loss of what to compare this feeling to, and that was perfectly fine with me because it felt right.

It felt like magic to be in my father's arms again. I felt like a little kid, when you just came home from your first day of preschool and jumped into your daddy's arms, yeah, that's the best I could come up with.

Yeah! It felt like that… except… my first day of preschool was a horror story, except for the Edward part… basically, the part I was talking about was hugging your father…

It was my dad… the way he rubbed my arm. The way he looked at me. The way he looked at Nessie. The way he was so very thankful to Edward for getting me here.

I knew. It was everything he had done in the last hour or so. I knew it. I knew I was forgiven. I knew I was being silly, and I knew that my dad loved me. I knew that when Edward had said 'trust me' he was serious, and I felt very, very silly for ever thinking that he deserved anything less than my trust.

Nothing else mattered. I was forgiven, and everything felt okay… well… almost.

My dad's nervous, clammy hand was rubbing my arm, and I leaned into his touch, missing the feeling of him. There was really no way I could ever thank Edward for this. He really just made my life tons better. I just had to face it. I just had to say it.

Edward was right, and I was paranoid.

I didn't even care, I'd be wrong everyday if this was the outcome. I'll even say it over and over. Edward was right… Edward was right… Edward was right… I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning into my father's chest. His eyes were still wide. He was holding Nessie and me close to him, and we were bundled up, just like a real family. He was crushing us to him as if we might just disappear at any moment. His arms were shaking, and I could understand that, what it must feel like to have your arms full of your own flesh and blood after five years of being at a loss of it.

I opened my eyes when my dad talked, ah his voice, something I had craved immensely while I was… away. I sighed and pushed away the thought of being gone again. That, by far, was the worst thing I ever did, but I wouldn't change it, the outcome was too favorable.

"So, you said that mom forgot to pick you up?" his voice was tender, speaking of the woman who had left him the same day that I did, his voice also held something else… a confusion, like I had told the story wrong.

"Well…" I said, rubbing my dad's back soothingly, "I'm not entirely sure. She was out of breath, so I assume she was jogging." He thought about that for a second.

He chuckled a dry chuckle. "I thought she had taken you and run away. I thought… I thought you guys had left me… I couldn't cope." His voice broke several times while saying that, and I closed my eyes to keep the tears at bay, I didn't feel like I could.

I hugged him, "I would never have left you if things had been… if I had known that it was okay to come back. Mom wouldn't either…" I trailed off, not knowing how to finish, I looked at him, hoping he understood. He did and I let out a breath.

And it was true, if I hadn't been raped, I would've stayed with mom and dad, gladly… there wouldn't have been any motive to leave. I sighed, I knew I couldn't complain though, I got Edward out of this, and it was worth it. I would go through anything for Edward.

We both pursed our lips, we both didn't know what mom's intentions were. I sighed, maybe she had left him coincidentally on the very same day… was it my fault? It probably was… it seemed like everything was these days… hell, with my luck she probably got- no, no… I couldn't think that negatively.

He had a large crease in his brow… "So… where were you." He asked me, trying to change the subject.

I took in a deep breath, I had been a multitude of places… Chicago… Arizona… my eyes widened. It just now occurred to me that I had started running away in Forks, Washington. How the _hell_ did I wind up in Chicago? That must have been some fierce walking… then again, all of it seemed like a blur anyways… so I guess it didn't really matter, I'd have to go online, my trusty source of information, once this was all over and calculate the miles that I'd travelled.

Lost in my own thoughts, I had forgotten that dad had asked me a question. What was it again? Oh… right.

"Chicago." I said, looking at our entwined hands. I figured he wanted to know where I was staying now, and where I had been for a majority of the time I was away.

Charlie's eyes drooped down and he shook his head. "I…I looked everywhere… how could they not have found you!" he cursed under his breath, his attitude one of anger. I bit my lip, swearing wasn't attractive or… a turn on… when my dad did it, as when Edward did it.

I gulped, "What do you mean… who could have not found me…?" I was confused now. How far had he looked? He sighed and opened his eyes, but they were tight, thinking about an answer he didn't want.

"The police." He muttered out and my eyes widened. He roughly fisted his hand together. He looked me straight in the eye.

"I called every station in the United States… I _went _to every station in the US… hell, I went to Canada and Mexico… I spent three years looking for you guys." I gulped. "I… I thought that if every police officer in three countries couldn't find you, then nothing could. But, you were in Chicago?! You mean to tell me that I could've flown to Chicago and just… taken you home?!" His voice was raised and I nodded with my eyes closed. He sighed and pulled me into another hug.

I reveled in the feeling of his warm arms around me. It was a large difference from being in Edward's arms. Don't get me wrong, there was almost nothing in the world that I wanted more than to be in Edwards arms, but I can't describe the comfort I get from my dad's arms… well… Edward's arms were comforting, hell… I didn't know how to describe it!

"You could've been with me the whole time." He whispered, more tears sprouting from his eyes. He held me closer, rocking us back and forth, I closed my eyes and a smile played on my lips. I hadn't felt my parents' worry for me in a long time.

"Wait… so you have no clue where mom is…?" I asked eagerly… well, not eagerly, more anxious. It would help us if he had even a small clue of where to find her.

Charlie shook his head. I sighed, it looks like we would have to go about this the boring and hard way. Thinking about it…

I stared up at the ceiling in concentration. Mom. Okay… where could she be…

After a minute of silence… nothing. My mind and thoughts drifted elsewhere.

The family reunion that was supposed to take place today didn't go as planned. Don't get me wrong, it was one of the best days of my life, but… it was only _half _of a reunion. I wanted my mother, and the fact that she was in trouble because of me only spurred on my need to find my mother.

And… that's how my thoughts drifted _back _to my mother.

Was she still…? No, I shouldn't think that way…

Edward chose this moment to cut in, and this time dad didn't glare at him.

"Bella?" his voice was robotic and his eyes were vacant, I was worried.

"Yeah, Edward?" I asked, a bit shocked at his pale white color, did he need the hospital?

He gulped, "What did you say your bosses name was again?" he asked, still robotic.

I wasn't expecting that question, I cocked my head to the side. "Uh… Mike Dells."

He nodded a little, and stared off into space. I was about to ask him if he was alright, but Charlie pulled me into another conversation.

"So… why did you call every police station?"

He looked at me incredulously, "Because I wanted you back." his voice held a hint of sadness. I smiled a little.

My eyes widened as I realized something, "Wait! That's why they knew who I was! That's why they laughed and said I wasn't alive… you called off the search!"

Dad looked confused, "What?" he crossed his arms, probably wanting to know why I had been looking for the help of the police.

I shook my head, that was another story for another time, but at least now I knew why. This completely made me understand why Alice said that the police laughed when she wanted their help.

It was completely unsettling that I was the only person in the US that the police wouldn't help.

"Oh my God…" a startlingly loud voice called from the sofa opposite to us. All three of our heads turned to see a pale white, shocked Edward. He was shaking, and gripping the armrest on the sofa he was sitting on for dear life. His striking green eyes were dilated and his mouth was open and he was looking straight at me. he looked like he was trying to say something.

"What? Edward, what is it?!" I asked, I was genuinely worried when he didn't answer me. Was something wrong?

He shook his head, opening and closing his mouth, looking like he was trying to find a way to say something. I immediately ran over to him, rubbing his back and looking at him with concern.

"What? Edward, do you need to go to the hospital. Dad! Call-"

Edward shook his head at me and said one word.

"Renee…"

I nodded my head. "Yeah…?"

I leaned him back onto the chair and ran my fingers over his forehead, he didn't have a fever…

"Mike… and Marcus… Dells and Dellings… Bella!" he looked at us, frantic, like I was missing something important.

"What?! Edward, tell me what's going on." My eyes narrowed.

He grabbed my shoulders lightly, "Bella! Don't you see! The raise, the perfect timing, the distracting phone call, Renee! It all makes sense."

I looked at him like he was crazy. How did that all make sense… that was just my horrid luck.

"No, Edward, it really doesn't make sense, what are you trying to say?"

Edward looked exasperated. He talked slowly, "You remember when your mom forgot to pick you up… right?"

I nodded slowly, "And Mike gave you a raise, and got a worried call. Bella, you were a bus girl, why would they give you a raise if they didn't have to?"

I had never really understood that myself.

"I still don't understand what you're trying to say."

Edward groaned, "Don't you see, Bella, Mike was talking to Marcus… his son! And… and… remember when Marcus said that he and his father liked a mother and daughter?"

My eyes widened. "What?!"

My mind was swirling while dad looked confused on the couch. My heart started to pound against my chest, and my eyebrows knit together. Edward jumped up and grabbed Nessie, and then his coat opening the door.

"Mike, Marcus' _father_ has your _mother,_ Renee." He looked frantic as dad immediately stood up.

I gasped. I was sure that my face drained of blood, when I realized that Edward was right. Marcus _had _talked about liking a mother and a daughter, along with his dad. Mentally kicked myself for not realizing this earlier.

If I was the daughter… then mom was the mother…

"Crap!" I stood up, running with them to the door.

Nessie was sleeping on Edward's shoulder as we made our way to Edward's Volvo. He buckled Nessie into her car seat in that back and I scooted in next to her, while Edward and Charlie scrambled into the front seats, both looking back at me and Nessie to make sure we were buckled in. I would've rolled my eyes if I wasn't so eager and anxious.

Edward put the car in reverse and slid easily out of the gravelly driveway. He drove out of the neighborhood and onto the street before something important finally dawned on him.

"Where am I going?" he sighed as he pulled over into a grocery store parking lot.

He ran his hands over his face as dad looked like he was at a loss of what to think.

I groaned, I would have to take charge. "Okay… so…" I tried to talk through my shock.

I took a deep breath as dad and Edward looked at me as I tried to come up with something.

I tried to think of the obvious, Marcus never made any effort to lead us from the obvious… most of the time… maybe he got that from his dad…

Think! That's what I had to do… okay… so where was the obvious place for them to be?

"Let's see… Mike had to have taken mom somewhere near where I was, I mean, we were. Uh… he wouldn't want to be _that _far from his son, besides, mom would've wanted… I don't know… maybe we were close together the whole time…?" I trailed off, again not knowing how to finish.

Dad looked like he was having a panic attack while Edward looked panicked, yet thoughtful.

"No… Bella, you're onto something… Mike and Renee have to be someplace near or in Arizona." I nodded my assent and dad glared at the window shield. He mumbled something incoherent and then said it a little more clearly.

"Oh, so… Arizona doesn't do well on the police scale either…" he grumbled and I sighed.

"Well… where would they have been in Arizona. What _other _maniac facility is there that he's storing my mother in… how many of those crazy houses can we find?" I pursed my lips.

Edward looked defeated. I pinched the bridge of my nose, and Edward gave a slight smile for some reason.

"We just need to think about it. So, we know, or are pretty sure, that they're in Arizona. But… _where _in Arizona." Dad said, he had his game face on.

"Could we call the Arizona police…?"

Dad sighed, "We could…" he whipped out his cell phone, and dialed.

"Yeah, I want all of you out there… no… yeah, and when you find him, bring me my wife, but lock him up, I want to show him a piece of my mind…" he huffed, "Fine… no… yes… just do it!"

He snapped the phone shut and Edward started driving, "Charlie, where is the airport."

Dad sighed before telling him, and Edward drove off at 70 miles an hour, I clutched Nessie to my chest, and when he saw that, he drove faster.

Despite my dad's job, I don't think he cared that Edward was speeding right now, by the look on his face, he wanted him to go even faster.

We got to the airport, and dad and I went to sit down while we sent the charming one to go get four tickets. Nessie was practically bouncing from all of the excitement that she had been going through. I think she was happy that she finally met one of her grandparents.

About five minutes later, a frantic Edward came back with four tickets in his pocket, he wrapped an arm around me and hitched Nessie up on his hip before leading us to the gate, dad tucked me under his arm, and Edward dropped his arm. Dad smiled and I laughed. I looked back at the ticket girl, who looked just below 30, and she was staring, wide eyed at Edward. I gave her a sympathetic smile. She didn't stand a chance. We walked to our gate, and they called for first class, we all got on.

**A-N- I'm sorry, I don't feel like using up so much time on explaining their plane ride, because, really? I'm pretty sure we all wanna get to the excitement!**

We landed in the Arizona airport and we hurriedly got off the plane. We went to the main floor, and to my embarrassment, my stomach growled, and Nessie announced that she was hungry.

"I'm hungry, daddy." She told Edward, and he sighed. He looked at me and dad.

Dad sighed, looked at the doors, and then led us to a café near them.

"Let's eat." He said, sitting down at a table and I sat with him, Nessie on my lap as Edward went to get food.

He huffed, "I still don't get why she calls him 'daddy'" he crossed his arms. I looked at the man I fell in love with, at the end of the line, every few seconds glancing back at me and Nessie.

I pursed my lips and leaned my head to my left, trying to think of a good way to explain our current situation to him.

I sighed, "Dad, if you were a child, and someone did as much for you as he did for her, what would you call her/him, stranger? No, Edward is more than I could've ever asked for as a father for her, and he makes us happy."

He sighed and smiled sadly, "I guess I understand." He paused for a moment, looking at Edward, "You in love with him?" he asked warily.

I sighed, then a blush came over my face, along with a smile, "How could I not be?" I asked him, and he grimaced.

"Fine… I _guess _he's an okay guy…" I rolled my eyes at his obvious disregard for everything Edward had done for my family.

I looked at him incredulously, "He saved our lives dad, he's getting you your wife back."

The more he thought about that, the bigger his smile got. "Never mind. I like the kid."

I laughed and bit my lip when I saw Edward walking back to us with a tray full of food. I smiled when I saw my favorite put in front of me, and Nessie's in front of her, and a variety put in front of dad.

I smiled and we ate in silence. My dad looked over Edward, and I could see the little wheels turning in his head, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times.

Dad broke it, "So, Edward, what are your intentions with my daughter." He was serious.

I dropped my fork on my plate and stopped mid chew.

I groaned, covering my face with my hands and blushing, I peeked at Edward. He didn't even seem fazed by the question as he looked dad straight in the eye.

"I plan on marrying her, and making her the happiest woman in the world."

I felt an automatic smile light up my face behind my hands and a tiny tear escape my eye.

Dad smiled, "I'm beginning to like you more and more, kid."

Edward smiled, and when dad wasn't looking, he winked at me, and wiped away my tear. Nessie clapped and dad rubbed her back while I beamed at Edward.

I smiled at the scene in front of me. Edward and my father and my daughter all together.

We sat in silence and ate for a while, until dad's phone went off. We could barely hear the tone over the bustle and noise in the airport, but we managed.

He took it out.

"Yeah… really? Well… how about-… no… I don't!... how… no… keep looking then!" he snapped the phone shut.

He ran his hands over his face, "They haven't found her yet…"

I sighed, "They will dad." I said, my voice wavering.

We had all finished eating. "Let's go." Edward said after he cleared our table.

Edward picked up Nessie and hurriedly helped me up, handing me over to dad like a fragile piece of china… I swear…

We all exited the airport, and went to the bus to go to Hertz, a rental car business.

Once we got there, we let Nessie choose a car very quickly, and she chose a purple VW bug. We all got in.

"Okay… so, where should we start looking?" dad asked.

We all thought it over, we came up with nothing. To our immense surprise, Nessie said something helpful.

"Well… I don't know 'bout you guys, but I woul' look where you guys' were…" Nessie said.

That would be a pretty obvious place… but that would mean that she was there. While we were there, we could've gotten her… back.

My eyes widened, "Edward… that place was pretty huge… do you think that there is a chance that she and Mike were there." I gulped while saying that.

Edward pursed his lips, and reluctantly nodded, "Um… it sounds pretty logical… Marcus and his father would be stronger together. But wouldn't the police have found them?" dad grumbled something.

"Well… not if Mike took mom and left his son for dead… or prison."

I bit my lip, teary eyed.

"Do you remember where it was, Bella?" Edward asked anxiously, and I tried in earnest to bite back a sarcastic comment. I wasn't capable.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, because I was coherent enough to calculate our exact route." Edward flinched at my harsh tone, but said nothing. Dad looked at me, disapproving.

I sighed, "Sorry… wait! Alice drove us to the airport! She would know where it was! The police would too… but they're looking for her…"

By the time I was done talking, Edward was already dialing his cell phone.

"Yes… Alice… no… we have another problem… no… well… kind of… we need to know the directions to… yeah… could you?" he bit his lip, something he had been doing more and more recently.

He continued talking to her, following her frantic directions as he drove fast. Dad was barely able to stay still in his seat. I held Nessie against me, kissing her auburn curls and thanking her, a couple of my tears wetting her hair.

What seemed like hours later, we pulled up to a freakishly large white house.

I gulped before tears and sobs fell freely and I buried my face in my hands. I kept having gruesome flashbacks of my wrists being cut. Of Marcus telling me things I wasn't ready to hear.

I hugged my knees to my chest. Edward hung up his phone.

He gulped, "Well… this is it."

Dad didn't waste any time before jumping out of his seat, gun in the air, and taking caution when walking towards the… house.

I bit my lip when he entered the house, I took a deep breath, I tried to remind myself that this is what he had trained for… but I only had him back for a matter of hours. It was hard to just let him go into that death zone again… he was a police officer… I tried to convince myself that he could handle it. at least I had Edward here with me.

Edward unbuckled his seat belt and followed dad, telling me to stay behind with Nessie. Beneath my tears I rolled my eyes.

Men.

I crushed Nessie to my side, leaning around the front seat to open the doors in case dad and Edward had to come out really fast.

What if that really did happen…? What if only one of my men came out of there safe?

I grabbed onto the headrest of the passenger's seat. I was hyperventilating in the back seat, clutching Nessie for dear life and I closed my eyes. Was I really here? At my place of torment? I kept seeing that room with Marcus in it. I kept feeling my wrists tingle from the blood oozing down from my cuts. Marcus was a psycho.

I looked at the house again. I glared at the chipping white paint on the wall. Both of my men were in there, and I'll be damned if they got hurt.

They were in there for a good 10 minutes… I sighed, it was a big house… and if they were searching thoroughly… they would be in there for hours.

If Nessie wasn't with me, I would have the total attitude in which I would be stubborn and run in there and help look for my captors.

But… I had another life to think about, Nessie was half of my world… I looked to her, and then at the house. I felt the strangest urge to just go up to the inanimate object and punch it… just for… _being _there. I know that would only cause self harm, but I just felt so useless… it was depressing really.

To keep my first priority at the forefront of my mind, I settled Nessie on my lap and leaned back into my seat. I took a few deep breaths.

"Don't go in… don't go in… think about Nessie… think about Nessie…"

Nessie sighed, "Just go in Mamma… I can take care of myself…" like there had ever been a bigger lie. My heart clenched, leaving her out her alone was the last thing I wanted.

I only crushed her closer to me, silently vowing to never let her go. I pulled her close to me and sighed. She wrapped her tiny arms around me.

It was odd. Never before had I had trouble taking on the parent with Renesmee. I mean, I was comforting her, but it felt like she was comforting me… I was still in the mind set of being a child.

But, you know what I had forgotten when raising Renesmee?

I was just a kid too. We were both just kids, vulnerable, naïve children who needed comfort. So, it was our silent promise to do just that.

We hugged each other and sobbed, taking on the role as both friends and mother/daughter. This was new for me.

She was huddled on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and for once I didn't worry, I knew from the soothing and tingly feeling that his hand gave me that it was Edward. I just knew it was him.

I looked up at him with blurry eyes. I gave him a half smile and hugged him, his body was careful not to squish Nessie, but his hands comforted me enough to stop my tears.

"Did… did you?" he knew what I was saying.

He laid a kiss on my neck, it was soft, as if it was saying 'I'm sorry', and I knew that they hadn't. I looked behind him to see dad, as upset as we all were.

I got up to hug my dad, handing Nessie to Edward and kissing him on the cheek before going to my dad, he hugged me before letting a few tears through himself.

"Oh! Look, look, look! Look who finally showed up to save Renee!"

Shocked, we all spun around to see my old boss.

**I just had to end it there, did y'all like it??**

**I hope so!**

**Wow… there's only five chapters left… this is MADNESS… well… around five…**

**Chapter question- FOAM OR BUBBLE WRAP? ( so I know what you send you your chocolate covered Edward's in)**

**REVIEW!!!**


	23. Traumas, Mirrors, and Bloody Clothing

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

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**LAST CHAPTER-**

She was huddled on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and for once I didn't worry, I knew from the soothing and tingly feeling that his hand gave me that it was Edward. I just knew it was him.

I looked up at him with blurry eyes. I gave him a half smile and hugged him, his body was careful not to squish Nessie, but his hands comforted me enough to stop my tears.

"Did… did you?" he knew what I was saying.

He laid a kiss on my neck, it was soft, as if it was saying 'I'm sorry' I knew that they hadn't. I looked behind him to see dad, as upset as we all were.

I got up to hug my dad, handing Nessie to Edward and kissing him on the cheek before going to my dad, he hugged me before letting a few tears through himself.

"Oh! Look, look, look! Look who finally showed up to save Renee!"

Shocked, we all spun around to see my old boss.

**THIS CHAPTER-**

B.P.O.V.

We all go through traumas. Whether they're small, or they're big, they're still horrid, and they're still traumas. A small trauma might be having your boyfriend, or girlfriend, cheat on you or break up with you. Maybe even having a pet die. To some, those might even be considered large traumas, but not to me. Large traumas might be having a loved one die, being raped or killed, having an abusive parent.

The list could go on and on, and depending on the person, the traumas could be considered big or small.

To _me, _a small trauma was being kidnapped or having a baby at fifteen. Now, depending on whose opinion it was, those could be considered tiny traumas, or the size of a tsunami. It didn't matter; it was still a traumatic experience, whether it was small or big.

To me, a big traumatic experience was having someone slice you open, or knowing that someone wants to eat you.

They were all traumas, and maybe they were interchangeable, small or big, they were still- you guessed it, traumas. Now, I would consider being kidnapped and sliced open a somewhat large traumatic experience… but it all depends. Think about this, though. If you went through, what you considered a traumatic experience, then you would be a teensy bit scarred right?

What about if you went through that experience _twice_? That wouldn't be much fun, would it? I was cut up, raped, kidnapped, and more, by Marcus Dellings. Let's just say I didn't like it… one bit.

Now, I was standing at the place where the torture took place, as if that wasn't such a huge reminder of Marcus Dellings, already, his own flesh and blood was standing before me.

He looked… the same, as far as I could remember, the gross hair, the gross _everything._

I looked at his face, and I saw Marcus, I saw his beaten up, old half of a face and saw it on this evil man. I closed my eyes as I thought of the time that Marcus that told us that it was his father's fault that his face was so messed up.

My body was frozen, and I barely processed the fact that Edward and dad had moved in front of Nessie and me.

This was painful, to say the least. The hair on my arms and neck were standing straight up. I stared at him, wide eyed.

His hard, dull eyes flickered to the house again, when we all saw a light flicker off on the third floor. I hadn't been in there. Ever…

My heart clenched at the tiny possibility that my mother could have been the one to turn that light off. She could be the one in there, being tortured and enduring the pain that Marcus' father could have inflicted on her.

As if sensing my pain, Edward reached behind him to grab my shaking hand; he stroked it with his fingers as all of our shocked eyes landed upon the window that had expressed the lack of light.

My eyes were vacant. I was nearly one hundred percent sure that my mother was up there. My instincts told me to run straight up there, to go and save her, to bring her home safely. From the look on dad's face, he was thinking the same thing. Yeah, I wanted to go up and save her, everyone here did, except for the guards and especially Mike, but I couldn't. One, because I knew that these men could hurt me, and even worse, my whole family, two, because I was fairly certain my feet couldn't move, they felt like they were inside of the cement we were standing on. It felt unnatural to be at such a loss.

We had come here to save my mother, and get Mike arrested. Clearly, we had failed. I was just so shocked to see that my mom could've been there. It just didn't seem probable after not seeing her for so long. It seemed unfair. Sure, I could go through these things, I deserved it all, but my mother didn't ever hurt anyone in her entire life. Neither did my father. They didn't deserve this, I did. I deserved it. I deserved it all.

I looked at the window, and so did everyone else.

I looked at dad and the look on longing and pain and pure… love that came through his eyes as he looked at that window where my mother could have been shocked me. I knew they were in love. Nothing in my being denied it, but the love that was there wasn't measurable. A tear escaped my eye. This was my fault.

Everything happened at the pivot point of me. Well, every bad thing for that matter.

I shook that off though, and crushed my body against Edward's back, well, as much as I could with Nessie in between us. I took deep breath, inhaling Edward's scent, and that did help to calm me, but I could never be placid with Marcus' own father, his flesh and blood, standing just feet from everyone who I cared most about. I shook in my tennis shoes.

This was my fault, my entire family was in immense fatal danger… and right now it just hit me that I can't do anything about it. The only police officer, my dad, was stunned into silence, so we had zero chance of escaping. It wasn't his fault though, he was just rejoicing over the fact that my mother was in there, and he was finally going to see her.

Although… there was a very large chance that Mike was leading us on the wrong way, in which case, my father would be depressed again. Oh look, that would be my fault too. I couldn't win. My father would be crushed both ways, and the ones I love would still be nowhere near home, and completely clueless as how to get there. I hated this. Much to my chagrin, Mike spoke.

"So, it took you this long, Charlie? Bella? … whoever you are." I looked over his shoulder to see Mike pointing, confused and disgusted, at Edward. Why the hell was Edward getting such a hard time? "I dare say I was hoping you would find me in a matter of days, you two… especially Charlie, being in the force and all… I expected more. But… you waited five years. Five years to save your beloved mother and wife?"

I saw him point a questioning look to dad, and he looked over Edward's shoulder at me. I ducked into him a little. My fingers fisted into his black t shirt, and his hand was on the small of my back, pulling me to him even more. My tears soaked through his shirt, and I probably looked like an idiot. But I didn't have it in me to care; we all looked like idiots here, right? Mike the biggest of us all.

Edward's breathing was even. It was too even, like it was robotic, and I peeked over his shoulder.

"Look, where is my wife." Dad's hands clenched and unclenched.

Mike snorted, "Maybe you'll find out someday."

We all gasped and my tears soaked through Edward's shirt, I looked at dad and saw him holding a gun behind his back, but he hid it so well that you wouldn't even know he was holding one. Dad slowly trailed the gun up, and it was just behind his side, I closed my eyes but heard Mike clear his throat. I opened my eyes wide enough to see his face; he didn't look worried at all.

"Whoa!" We all said in unison when seven guards we didn't see came up and tackled dad to the ground, taking the gun away and slipped it into one of their belts.

One of the guards kicked his side before flanking their master.

"No!" I screamed when dad winced. My foot automatically stepped out, but Edward pulled me back, I looked at him, silently telling him not to mess with me.

He leaned down to my ear. "Nessie."

I stepped back in my place to protect her without a word, looking back at my dad with tear filled eyes. I bit my lip to keep the noises that threatened to leave my sorrowful lips away and Edward rubbed my back. I was situated behind Edward so back no one would see Nessie. I had a feeling that she wasn't going to stay incognito for a while longer. I pursed my lips.

I leaned up to Edward's ear, "What are we going to do with her?" I asked, barely moving my lips.

He took a deep breath, and he looked at me. I gasped; it was a look that said, "Keep her safe no matter what. At the cost of anything and everything."

I nodded slightly, trying to make it so that no one detected our conversation. I had another feeling that if anyone was going to give us away, it would unfortunately be me… another thing that would inevitably be my fault.

"Should I run?" I asked, and he made a movement with his head that meant "No, Bella, they would catch you." I looked at the ground, the disappointment weighing heavily on me.

Mike walked towards dad as he got back up, much like his son, he was very tall. Dad got up, playing the fearless act.

"What should we do then?" I asked, frantic, the only thing I could think of was making a break for it.

Edward looked at me, and had a look that said, "I don't know."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, and the truth was that neither of us knew what to do. I used the only thing I could rely on.

I relied on my maternal instincts, convincing myself that nothing else mattered. I kept Nessie in between me and Edward, and I leaned my head on Edward's shoulder, the tears rolling down my cheeks and onto his shirt. Edward whispered to me, and I swear if I wouldn't have heard him, I wouldn't have known he was talking. Yeah, getting figured out would be my fault, add that to the list… or lists.

"Just don't move. I love you, Bella." I let out a tiny whimper.

That wasn't a normal, everyday 'I love you, Bella.' That was a, 'I may never see you again, so I love you.' Kind of I love you.

I planted a firm kiss on his neck, much like the one he had given me earlier, "I love you too, Edward."

We didn't say anything to Nessie, needing to keep her inconspicuous for now. Instead, we held her tight, showing her our words with our hands. I didn't need to speak with Edward to know that this was our way of showing her our love… of forming one last bond that we could all cherish for a while longer.

"Oh… my, my, my, Charlie. Honestly? I thought you would put up more of a fight, but I could kill you here and now… I have to say it's a tiny bit disappointing. Shall we take this inside?"

Without our consent, he started walking towards the large, double doors that I had been haunted by for so long. Dad let out a growl, and in the time it took Mike to walk two steps, dad had pounced.

He didn't even feel it. The guards were quicker than he was. He was held back and dad let out a roar. Dad was glaring at Mike, as he kicked his feet back against the guards.

I was quite shocked, to say the least. When I was little, I used to go with him to work, and I had seen him escape countless situations just like this one. My eyes widened, he could do this, I had seen him do it… instead, his startling angered eyes and bared teeth were pointed towards the window where we had all seen the light flicker off. It was still off.

"Give me my wife back!" Dad said in a calm voice, but anger was just beneath the calm, this was the way dad talked when someone had done something wrong and he was trying to stay calm. I knew the voice well.

Mike narrowed his eyes, weighing his head to his left. "Well… we'll see." He looked at me, suddenly smiling.

He walked towards me, and dad's eyes grew wide. "Stop!" he yelled, and he started to run towards me but he was held back by the guards. My eyes widened as I whimpered as Mike yanked me from Edward, revealing my baby. Mike gasped, looking at Nessie, he reached out for her.

"No! Stop!" I handed Nessie to Edward, who held her close to him, throwing daggers at Mike for even thinking about touching her.

Mike roughly forced my hands behind my back, and my dad was struggling against the seven-foot tall iron giant. Tears flooded from my eyes as Edward tried to struggle free from his own guard, and I realized that Nessie was crying, in the arms of another guard. I felt like my throat was closing up, Mike trailed his fingers around my chin, looking at me. My nostrils flared in anger as he reached behind him. A guard handed him something cold, that was now pushed against my neck. My breathing was labored and I felt certain that it was a knife.

"Ahh!" I screamed when the knife slid across my skin. I cried as I felt a hot, sticky liquid flow down my neck. Tears came through my eyes as Edward and dad screamed, and the guard holding Nessie, forcing her eyes on my neck.

"No!" I tried to turn myself, my daughter had just witnessed someone hurting her mother, had seen me bleed.

The burn in my throat dulled, as every pain I had been through did, and my concern for Nessie heightened. I could still feel the blood on my shirt and neck, but her tears hurt worse than the actual cut. I had been through worse, but I had fought for Nessie never to go through anything traumatic. A tear left my eye; Nessie had been through her second trauma, at the tender age of four. That thought pulled at my heart.

I tried to stay still. Dad and Edward were crying, and I felt the blood dripping, and since I had nothing to wipe it on, it continued to drip, and it was a tad uncomfortable. Mike, despite the current situation, laughed freely, to my chagrin, his laugh was just as menacing as his son's.

"How about we talk about this through dinner?" he didn't wait for an answer before he turned his gaze to the guards. "Guards!"

He spun on his left foot, and started walking towards the doors. The guards grabbed me, and my eyes widened, there was no way I could get Nessie out of here safely.

"No!" I sobbed as I was ripped apart from my daughter. There was a guard for everyone and sobs wracked through my chest as Nessie started crying, Edward was trying to shake off the guard attached to him and dad was already inside.

We were all pushed, against our will, inside, and my feet dragged along the pavement as my sorrowful gaze was fixed upon Nessie. From my peripheral vision, I saw Edward doing the same thing. As we entered the door that had haunted my memories for so long, we were pulled to a hallway I hadn't been in. It was the same as all of the others I had been in, it was endless, it was too quiet, it was white, and it had doors on each side of the hall.

This hall was different. We took a step inside of it, and it only seemed to get longer. The first door I saw had the number one on it, it was big and bronze. It reminded me of Edward's hair. I shrugged that off though. The doors were so close together… and I saw little peep holes on top of each number.

It reminded me of a hotel, except the hallways were a lot longer. My eyes narrowed as we entered the hallway. The only thing I could hear were my own sobs, mixed with Renesmee's, contrasting against the sound of our shoes dragging across the white linoleum flooring.

"No! Stop! Please, stop!"

Dad, Edward, Nessie, and I all froze at the loud screeching sounds that came from room 37. We all heard loud sobs, louder than mine, erupting from that room. It was a girl, no, maybe a woman, and she was banging some… wall in the room 37.

I wondered what was happening… I looked at Edward, who had his eyes locked on door 37, hard and cold. Edward looked straight at me, as if trying to find something, he looked away, unsatisfied. I frowned. I looked at the guards, who smirked, looking at each other as if enjoying some private joke.

My feet slowed, but the guards roughly pushed me to pick up the pace, Edward glared at them. Our shocked eyes locked upon door 68 when we heard a sharp cry, followed by a laugh. I felt tears in my eyes, knowing these women were being tortured, but the more we walked forward, the more cries we heard. My mind sped up, along with my heart rate.

I shook my head, and closed my eyes. I just let the guards lead me, wanting to block out everything. I heard more cries and bangs and screams as we went along… more begs for mercy. It was horrible. I realized that Nessie and everyone had stopped crying. In my mind, I had counted at least 400 screams. Tears leaked through my closed eyes until I heard a guard grunt. We stopped. My teary eyes opened and they locked on a room number, 498. My eyes widened. I looked to the end of the hallway; there were at least 300 more rooms.

Before I had any chance to think about it, we were pushed down a separate hallway, with just as many doors, but these weren't numbered. I shivered. The noises of the captives behind the doors had stopped, or maybe these were just sound proofed. I had learned that nothing was impossible, so either there was no one in the rooms, or there were, and whatever was going on was too loud.

I heard Nessie's cries pick up again, and then I realized that they were never gone, they were just drowned out by the now distant screams of the captive women. My eyes grew hard as we passed doors and doors… and doors, Mike leading us. I had counted hundreds of screams, 498 to be exact. If there were at _least _300 more doors, than that meant 300 more tortured women.

About 800 women being tortured, all on one floor. We were pushed forward more. There were five floors in this hell hole. If you added it all up, there were at least 4,000 rooms with captives… 4,000 tortured women… one of them bound to be my mother.

Finally, we were pushed into a room with a long, glass table. It looked like the other room we had been in, but the walls were blood red, and lit candles covered almost every flat surface. I was shoved into a seat, opposite of Edward, and to the left of dad. Nessie was sitting to my own left, still sniffling, looking around in wonder. My eyebrows knit together when I realized that she was sitting in a booster seat. How the hell had Mike known that I would have a child with me?

I took one guess. I groaned, well… at least Mike wasn't stupid enough to not take care of her needs. Mike sat at the head of the table, a good ten feet from us; his eyes were locked on Nessie.

He smiled a crazy smile, one that made you think of the Cheshire cat. "So! Renee has a little grand baby! May I ask what her name is, Bella?"

I grimaced, "Go to hell, to you she is nothing." I patted Nessie's knee and Edward nodded his agreement while dad glared.

He laughed, another menacing sound, "Oh, but Bella you forget, she is my granddaughter too."

My eyes widened, that was something I had tried many times to overlook. To me, Carlisle and Esme were the other grandparents. Even though they didn't know her, it was better in my mind.

I bit my lip, "Well, if I replaced… Marcus as the father, than I gladly exchange you for Edward's parents." Mike narrowed his eyes at this and Edward made an awkward coughed. I sent him an unembarrassed look, and turned back to Marcus.

"What do you want with us, anyways? How did you know we were coming?"

Mike looked around the room, "Dinner!" He screamed.

The guards brought out what looked like slop, and set a plate in front of everyone at the table. I looked at it closely for a moment, it was discolored, and something was peppered on top. I looked at dad and he examined the food, he narrowed his eyes at it. He looked at Mike, who was eating his food nervously. He looked at Mike's food, which I now noticed had none of the 'seasoning' that ours had.

Dad sighed and pursed his lips, he looked at me, and ten he twisted his head to the left. A few seconds later, he turned his head to the right. And then he looked straight at me, saying no with his eyes.

I nodded discreetly, of course, being a cop my father had been trained to detect any and all dangers. We were being drugged. I threw daggers at Mike; he had tried to drug everyone I loved. My daughter even, a four year old. I took a deep breath as Mike tapped his foot on the floor.

Edward picked up his fork and poked it, and Mike smiled before Edward scooped up some. He brought it to his mouth and I kicked his leg, letting his sludge covered fork drop to the floor. He shot me a confused look and I looked at him like I was crazy.

"Whoops… such a klutz…" I said to Mike, and when Nessie picked up her own fork, I knocked it over, telling her 'no' with my eyes.

She was obedient, and she knew when I said no, I meant no, so she nodded slightly before scooting her plate away. I smiled, smarted four year old… ever. Edward looked at me with questioning eyes, and I pursed my lips, if only he could be that smart… On the other end of the table, I saw Mike grow stiff, glaring at me.

"Oh, that's quite alright, Bella, there's always more." He said as more silverware was placed next to Edward's and Nessie's plates.

Looking intimidated, Nessie picked up her fork and fiddled with the food a little, making it look like she ate some, Edward did that same. I looked to my dad, who had also pushed his food around the plate. We all looked at Mike expectantly. He just hummed and stared at the wall. Who knows, maybe he _was _drugged. I sighed, a shiver running through me, looking around. Though I hadn't ever been in this room before, it felt so… so familiar. I was brought out of my thoughts by Mike's voice. The one that sounded somewhat like Marcus.

"Oh! Well… I suppose we should get this show on the road." I gulped and winced from the pain. Nessie yawned through her tears, and Mike glared, "Well, maybe tomorrow, guards, show them to their rooms."

He angrily scooted away from the table and left the room, clenching his hands into fists. The guards immediately pulled us all up, and everyone's eyes, excusing the guards, were on my bloody neck. I tried to duck it down and close my eyes as we walked, trying to make it all go away. We walked throughout the hallway of screams, I could hear it, and my eyes were still closed. I focused on taking deep breaths.

"Where are you taking us sir?" Nessie's childlike voice asked her guard, I opened my eyes enough to see even him melt under her gaze. I closed my eyes again when I heard another scream.

"Erm… Mike asked us not to tell you." She sniffled and I heard nothing more from her. That was almost worse than hearing her cry.

The further we walked, the less I heard the screams. The pain in my neck dulled. Well, at least we would have the night to come up with a plan. I sighed as the screams were completely gone now. I focused on the things I could hear. The footsteps of the guards. The footsteps of Edward, myself, and my father, and the stumbling, tiny padding of Renesmee being pulled along by her guard. We walked a long time, longer than I thought that the hell hole went, my eyes closed the whole time.

The further we went, the less I heard. I sighed and smiled a little bit. I heard less and less. First my mind blocked out Edward's and Charlie's footsteps, and then my mind pushed away Nessie's too. I felt like the only thing I could hear were my own footsteps. My eyes were still closed as I descended down and up different sets of stairs; I was still the only thing I could hear. My mind was really weird, I kept hearing less and less as I walked. My feet got tired.

I yawned and suddenly, I felt myself being pulled to a stop. I opened my eyes and gasped. I was in a long, black, smelly tunnel, with a large, brown door right in front of me. To my right, the smoky walk way went for what seemed like miles. To my left, the same thing met my eyes. Fog clouded some of my vision, but the endless walkway held no light except for the guards' flashlight. I stiffened, beginning to feel a bit scared. It hit me hard when I realized that my mind hadn't made up that the footsteps and breathing were gone.

They were actually gone, and I was alone, looking at a guard who had the ability to do whatever the hell he wanted with me in a dark tunnel. My eyes widened as I shrunk against the wooden doorframe and looked at the smirking guard with wide eyes. He held back a smile and rolled his eyes. He reached in his pocket and took out a key, reaching behind me to unlock the door.

He shoved me inside and I shuddered, I pressed my ear up against the door, and I heard his breathing. I heard him lock the door, all six locks, and stand there quietly…

My salty tears stung the 5-inch slit on my neck that was still giving a small amount of blood. There was less than before, but I was getting light headed. I rested my head on the door, balling my fists next to my face as the tears came down through my closed eyes.

I let out a sob and I leaned my back up against the door, sliding all the way down to the floor. I slid my hands over my face. I opened my eyes and gasped. The walls were covered with mirrors, even the ceiling had them, and all around I saw my reflection. I saw my shaking, bloody reflection in every wall, and in the ceiling.

Tentatively I stood up, and walked to the nearest wall, looking at myself.

My bloody, shaking, teary eyed, lonely self.

I searched my own eyes in the mirror. The only thought that came through my mind as the blood seeped through was…

_This is where I die._

**Oh, tense… is this where she dies? In the very place she swore never to go again…**

**Where is Nessie? Edward? Charlie? Renee?**

**Only I can know. ****It's**** all so pressuring…**

**Chapter question- WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PRESENT THIS YEAR? (Just any present, doesn't have to be a Christmas present.)**

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	24. Everyone's Scared and Bloody

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**LAST CHAPTER-**

They were actually gone, and I was alone, looking at a guard who had the ability to do whatever the hell he wanted with me in a dark tunnel. My eyes widened as I shrunk against the wooden doorframe and looked at the smirking guard with wide eyes. He held back a smile and rolled his eyes. He reached in his pocket and took out a key, reaching behind me to unlock the door.

He shoved me inside and I shuddered, I pressed my ear up against the door, and I heard his breathing. I heard him lock the door, all six locks, and stand there quietly…

My salty tears stung the 5-inch slit on my neck that was still giving a small amount of blood. There was less than before, but I was getting light headed. I rested my head on the door, balling my fists next to my face as the tears came down through my closed eyes.

I let out a sob and I leaned my back up against the door, sliding all the way down to the floor. I slid my hands over my face. I opened my eyes and gasped. The walls were covered with mirrors, even the ceiling had them, and all around I saw my reflection. I saw my shaking, bloody reflection in every wall, and in the ceiling.

Tentatively I stood up, and walked to the nearest wall, looking at myself.

My bloody, shaking, teary eyed, lonely self.

I searched my own eyes in the mirror. The only thought that came through my mind as the blood seeped through was…

_This is where I die._

**THIS CHAPTER-**

Mystery point of view (woman)

I whimpered as I heard another scream come from one of the other rooms. I shook as I waited for Mike or Marcus to come back in here… I cried out in horror as I didn't know when they would come back.

I shook as painful anticipation came over me. I was anticipating everything they would do to torture me.

I chewed my lip, somewhat thankful that Mike said that he had some 'visitors' coming last minute. I hadn't seen Marcus for about a month… maybe two… and Mike hadn't come to my room all day.

I was happy about that, I had an amount of peace in being alone… I had listened through the door, Mike's and Marcus' guards weren't here. If I had my strength back, I could knock down the door and run away, he'd be too preoccupied with his visitors to notice if I was gone… hell, maybe I could save Carmon and Sara… maybe even Stacy… all of them! All of _us._ I could save us all.

It might be easier though… I haven't seen Marcus for a while, it was only Mike… so many if we all teamed up… no, I shouldn't get ahead of myself… I wouldn't even be able to save myself, and that revelation beat me down hard.

I was suddenly very thankful to the visitors he had for keeping him occupied so he wouldn't come back for a while. I shuddered as I heard a different sounding scream come from one of the other hundreds of rooms.

I sighed, my ears had gotten too accustomed to the sound of screaming and somehow it never got old. It only ever got worse. I wondered who they were, Mike had looked evil as he came to tell us all that he would be busy the next couple of days. He had that evil glint in his eye… the one that told us we were going to regret being alive when he came back… but it all depended on if he was happy or not.

If he was happy, the torture would be much, _much_ worse. If he was sad or upset, he's just walk in here and the torture would be minimal… twisted reasoning, right? I thought so… but everything here was so twisted…

I couldn't help but wonder whether that meant that when he came back… he would make it all worse for us. He would push us too far, just like always, but it would be worse. I shook as noisy tears and sobs erupted from my eyes and mouth as I screamed, clenching my fists. I shook and I felt the intense need to hit something.

I saw that the nearest thing to me was the door, I cried out again as I punched it, banging it with all of my might and throwing my head against it.

My punches slowed as I realized that what I was doing wasn't doing any good and I pulled back, my eyes widening from the deep gashes that now adorned my hands and forearms… and the door.

I slouched against the walls, my eyes locked on my cut up arms and the bloody walls.

Mike looked like he was happy to see the visitors which meant that… that he would be happy when he came back…

Yes, torture would be worse.

B.P.O.V.

When I was a kid, I always had the weirdest need or want to watch horror movies. I know what you might be thinking, horror movies? Well, yeah… I always loved them, I wasn't one of those chicks who got squeamish or loved chick flicks. Yeah, I'd watch them with my mom, but my favorites were horror movie nights with my dad. I know that when I think about horror movies, I think about the classics… Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or well… the stuff like that. I never liked to watch the ones where it's not scary, what's the fun in that? Nowhere. Anyways, the point is when I think about them, I think about the final scenes of the victims, the ones where they tried to fight back before they died. I always thought that if _I _were in that position, I could easily get away faster than these loons, just because I would never go in the dreaded closet or attic.

Or maybe an action movie, where the victim gets all tied up and _just _before they die, James Bond or whatever comes to the rescue. Yeah… an action movie. Where the victim would get all tied up in that room… you know, the room that the murderer or torturer had prepared beforehand, just so that the victim would die there. The horrible room where the victim was at the complete mercy of the murderer and all the viewers screamed at the TV not to kill the beloved character. I was one of those people, I'll just go ahead and admit it.

That's a _great _analogy for how my life was right now except for the fact that James Bond could never save me, theoretically of course, since James Bond was a fictional character I was more talking about the initial hero. No, what I meant was that Edward wasn't here to save me this time. I should just be thankful he's saved me as much as he did. But I must admit my worry, I felt like we had walked miles and miles from the house in an underground tunnel and now I was in a room surrounded by mirrors. I tried to figure out what that meant. I mean the mirrors, all of the torture rooms or murder rooms I had ever seen in any movie looked nothing like this.

This was a room of mirrors, there were no chains or anything to kill me with, unless you wanted to rip the mirror from the wall, it was really weird. I mean, the tunnel outside would've made a great torture room, it had green check marks for all of the necessary criteria of a torture room.

It was creepy, foggy, there was a villain, and I'm fairly certain he had either a knife or a gun. The tunnel outside was exactly how I would've pictured those scenes in real life… and it was real life. The tunnel actually reminded me of those movies because… it was like they were built to resemble a movie scene.

But when you looked at the torture room scene from the movie, you saw chains or black stone walls, with weapons lying around. Something you never saw was mirrors. The mirrored room didn't have any of those qualities, don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic that I wasn't in one of those torture rooms, but it was nothing short of creepy to see my dried, fresh, red blood. If you looked hard enough through the blood, you could see it. You could see the gash, it had some purple o it, and the blood stained my whole shirt, and I almost gagged.

My face was the palest of whites.

My hands gently swept over the cut, wincing as a pain hit me, and I held my shaky fingers above my face, tears coming through as blood dripped from my fingers.

I took a deep breath as I stood up, looking at myself in a mirror, I sighed. What was I supposed to do now? I was separated from my family and I was here waiting in what I thought was a torture room, with no way to get out. My shirt felt heavy, heavy with blood, my once white shirt was now soaked through with my own blood. I closed my eyes and gulped, wincing as my neck protested the action.

Slowly, my red, sticky hands took off my blood soaked shirt, and I threw it in the corner of the room. It was useless to me now, unless my goal was to be drenched in my own blood. Actually, I was having a more than hard time trying not to puke. I almost wanted to puke from being in this room.

I was left in a white camisole, and camouflage army pants, with ratty tennis shoes. My camisole had some blood on it but it was better than nothing. My hair flowed down my shoulders in a tangled mess, somewhat marked by my blood on the tips. My neck was the worst, it was, of course, red, but it was crusty and disgusting. I tried to find something to tie around it, but found myself at a loss, the only option was my bloody shirt and somehow, I didn't think it would help me that much.

I sighed as I looked in the mirror, I reached up to run my fingers through my hair, but when I saw the sticky blood that coated them, my hand retracted on impulse. I bit my lip as I paced the room, it had been an hour or so, and I had found nothing to help me escape this place and help my family.

I looked to the mirror more closely… there were scratches adorning almost every surface of mirror, and my eyebrows were brought together in confusion.

I looked down at my hands; my blood hands and I grimaced.

I wiped some of the blood that was on my hand on the floor, and that only seemed to make them stickier than they already were. I grimaced as I took a look at my reflection in one of the mirrors.

I looked to the side. In an action movie, James Bond would magically come and save me from my ultimate doom… normally this is where I would say that what I just thought was an understatement. What scared me is that I didn't know if I was overreacting or not… there could easily be a bomb behind any of these mirrors.

What the hell, the room might not even be made of mirrors… maybe I'm just out of it. I sank down to the ground, crossing my arms over my chest. I groaned, I didn't even give a damn that my throat vibrated from the sound and it hurt like hell.

I pursed my lips and looked up at the ceiling. I stared at my bloody fingers, sick of myself. I started to cry. Nessie had personally been forced to witness me bleeding and screaming, the worst part was that her crying hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. Would she be scarred by this? Did the guard have to point her face directly at me? Did he have to make her watch Mike do it?

My daughter… my own daughter. More tears ran down my face as I leaned back, Nessie had seen her mother bleed…

I know that I would be messed up if I saw… my mother bleed… it'd be my fault, so maybe it was worse.

Maybe it wasn't.

Was life really that cruel?

The answer was yes, life really was that cruel. My daughter was probably having to go to therapy… maybe if we were lucky, she wouldn't have any problems at all… hmm… actually no, that would be worse… I don't know, maybe it wouldn't. I sighed, tapping my sticky, blood coated fingers on the grimy floor. It made me wonder what her initial reaction was, I sighed. Whatever reaction I imagined her having, it wasn't favorable and it was against me.

I tried to think out of that particular box that I thought in so much, because, let's face it; when I imagine peoples' reactions, they're never spot on. Ever. I tried to think from Edward's view. I couldn't… that's why I needed him. I sighed, and looked at the mirrored walls, thinking like Edward wasn't going to save my life. I knew I had to find a way to get out of this room. I pursed my lips.

I had to think like myself. Think… what would be the easiest way to get out of here?

Slowly, I stood up and walked to the door as to not make any noise and bit my lip as I pressed my ear up against the dark wood. I sighed as I heard the heavy breathing of the guard, he was there, I could take the door off of my list.

I tapped my foot on the floor and looked in the mirror. I blushed as I thought about what I was actually going to do. This would have to be the most embarrassing moment of my life. I closed my eyes, embarrassed for a moment before I went to the wall next to the door.

I ran my hands along every crease I could reach on the walls. I bit my lip as I tapped on each wall, and knocked them with my foot. No, no epic James Bond moves happening here. I huffed in frustration; I had to think of another way out of here.

I stood and paced the room, biting my lip. I didn't think I was getting out of here anytime soon. It could have been hours… I didn't know how long I had been in here.

Hours, days, no, days would have to be too long. Unless Mike had all of a sudden decided to come in here and knock me unconscious for a week. Yeah, that stuff happened to me.

Apparently, emotionally… I was unstable… and physically, I looked like a dead mule.

I stared at my bloody reflection in the mirror. I looked horrendous. I grimaced and my gaze shifted down to the corner were the mirrors met with the floor. At the very tip, there was about a one centimeter high flap, and if you looked closely enough, you could see an almost invisible line that led into a square about 5 feet in diameter. My eyebrows knit together as I slowly looked where it was.

My eyes widened at the fact that there might actually be a James Bond movie going on here. My smile was just like a Cheshire cat's as I walked to it.

Hesitantly, I lifted my shaking hand to peel back to carpet, and I saw wood, it had a little handle, and my hand went to lift it without thinking about it. My smile ceased when I saw what was inside and I screamed.

Inside of the 'door', there were bloody maces… whips… cuffs… knives… and chains. My hands slammed the door down and I scrambled to the other side of the room where I cried and held my legs to my chest.

My mind screamed a revelation at me.

_This _was_ a torture room. And I was going to be the next person to bloody those weapons._

--

E.P.O.V.

I banged my head against the white, wall. This sucked. Here I was, in this little, tiny, miniscule room with a guard standing behind my room, and I had no clue where _anyone _was. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, my bloody Bella was off in a room with a rapist's father… who may or may not be a rapist himself, you couldn't tell for sure. The thing was, I wanted her to be safe, and I didn't see her being safe here. Where was Nessie? How about Charlie? I hated, _hated, _Mike for separating us all. I remember when Mike's guard had shoved me in here.

He had told me that Mike would be having some 'fun' with my girlfriend. And here I was… sagged on the floor crying. Don't judge though, I had tried to ram the door down on several occasions, probably dislocating my shoulder… not that I would know where to go after that.

According to my cell phone, I had been in this cell for about… three hours. And don't worry, I had already screamed profanities and tried to save Bella because the only one having 'fun' with her will be me. I pursed my lips as I glared at the door.

Oh, and before you ask, apparently Mike was smart enough to cut off the cell phone reception in here, so dialing any number was pointless. Texting was the same. I had thought about shattering it, but I might need it later, and maybe I'd be able to use it somewhere. There had to be reception somewhere… how else would the people here live?

Yeah, I had already learned my lesson about killing an inanimate object.

-it didn't help you whatsoever.

So, here I was in a room, with no help… alone… with my Bella off somewhere having what the douche bag, Mike, said was 'fun'.

How _did_ people live here…?

Oh, right, I almost forgot who lived here. I groaned as I paced the room. What was Bella doing right now? What was Mike doing to her? Was Renee alright?

Hell… was she even here…? There was a big chance that she was, but you couldn't know… Mike could have put her into hiding when we arrived… well, I was sure she was here. Mike had said that we had… 'finally come to save Renee.' Maybe we just needed time to look.

We didn't have time though, because we were taken into Mike's… er… home before we even had a chance.

We had failed miserably, trying to save Renee, or even get to here and I felt at a loss because I felt like it was all over. But, I couldn't have that attitude if I wanted to get out of here. I was worried about my daughter as well. Well, there was one difference between Mike and Marcus, Mike wasn't as stupid… he had taken away our most powerful alliance, staying together.

We really had no clue what the other was going to do due to separation. I kept wondering what was happening to everybody else. Were they worse off than I was? I sighed and pursed my lips, tapping my fingers on the metal table. I was beginning to go crazy without my Bella. Without my daughter.

I almost felt worse for Charlie though. He had just gotten Bella back into his arms and now she was gone again, probably in a little room, just like the rest of us.

Or maybe they were all together, that is what I could hope for, that is what I wanted. I could take being apart from them… Charlie would keep them safe.

And that's precisely what killed me, were they better off or worse off than I was? Did it matter as long as they got away? No… it didn't. But it did at the same time. I wasn't making sense.

I wanted, no, needed for them to get away, and I shook with anger as I thought of everything Mike was planning with her. My mind ran through every possible scenario and

I wasn't making any sense. I was going insane! I stood up and pounded my fist on the wall. that didn't help either.

"Shit!" I yelled to no one, and I ran my hands through my hair, this reminded me a lot of the first time I had been here. The room was similar… my reactions, it all felt the same. What kind of world is this where this happens to a person twice?

Oh… I forgot… Bella's world.

Bella's messed up world… that I was absorbed in… that I loved for some reason. I loved everything she did… the way she laughed, smiled, talked, walked, hugged, kissed. Everything, and that was exactly why I was here… I couldn't stand her unhappiness towards her parents and I felt the need to fix it.

That's why we were here. That's why we were in trouble. I realized that my family was being hurt and it was my fault.

It devastated me that I couldn't fix it…

I wasn't able to wallow in my sorrows for long because I felt a reverberation run through the room, and then a startling metal scrape. My head snapped to the door, where the sound and feeling originated. There was a guard there, the same one who had dragged me into this room, I backed into the wall, my throat felt like it was closing up.

The guard rolled his eyes in one small motion, throwing a white, folded sheet of paper at my feet. I stayed put until the guard walked out of the cramped room and locked the door, only then did I relax my stance. With my eyes still glued to the door, I slowly bent down to pick up the folded sheet of paper. My fingers fumbled as I ripped the tape off of the cream paper. A little bit of the paper was ripped, but my shaky fingers managed to keep the paper opened.

What I read forced me to scream and fall of my knees, paper in hand as I cried.

_Bella told me to tell you… 'goodbye'._

_Mike._

**Look, I know that there was no dialogue in there… but it was all important, I swear it was all necessary! Even the mystery POV… it was all needed. **

**Every.**

**Single.**

**Bit.**

**Happy 2010!**

**Chapter question- WHAT WILL YOU MISS THE MOST ABOUT 2009? THE LEAST?**

**REVIEW!!!**


	25. Just When Everything's in Hell

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LAST CHAPTER-

I wasn't able to wallow in my sorrows for long because I felt a reverberation run through the room, and then a startling metal scrape. My head snapped to the door, where the sound and feeling originated. There was a guard there, the same one who had dragged me into this room, I backed into the wall, and my throat felt like it was closing up.

The guard rolled his eyes in one small motion, throwing a white, folded sheet of paper at my feet. I stayed put until the guard walked out of the cramped room and locked the door, only then did I relax my stance. With my eyes still glued to the door, I slowly bent down to pick up the folded sheet of paper. My fingers fumbled as I ripped the tape off of the cream paper. A little bit of the paper was ripped, but my shaky fingers managed to keep the paper opened.

What I read forced me to scream and fall of my knees, paper in hand as I cried.

_Bella told me to tell you… 'Goodbye'._

_Mike._

THIS CHAPTER-

B.P.O.V.

My desperate cries were empty. I stared at the floor; I stared at the exact spot I had just slammed the floor back down onto.

Weapons were in there, and I couldn't do anything about it, with a guard outside, I couldn't escape, and since James Bond obviously wasn't going to show up, it was just a matter of time before Mike did. He would use those weapons on me, or maybe he wouldn't… the pain in my neck brought me back to the reality that those weapons were the reason that I was in here now. Everyone else was probably safe.

No thought in the world could make me relieved and terrified at the same time like that one did. I paced the room, breathing in shakily, awaiting my fate.

This was it, I was going to die, and I was going to be leaving everyone… I would never see my mother. I would lose the love of my life.

I was going to lose everything and I had to stand here and wait for the worst part, the beginning. I just had to get past that and maybe I could feel numb enough to watch the rest of it happen.

This was all my fault, if I hadn't left, then we would all be safe. I put Edward, Nessie, mom, and dad in danger…

And, the worst was the anticipation of a murderer's father in a glass room full of bloody, sharp objects.

Hmm… maybe Mike was even a murderer… hell, how was I supposed to know? For all I knew, I could be asleep and wake up at age 15, everything washed away.

I was allowed to think that anything was possible if I was in a glass room with a crate full of bloody, sharp objects. But, I already said that.

Looking into the glass, it reminded me of my parents' room, they had a mirrored wall in it. I always thought it was pretty, especially when mom would french braid my hair in front it. I remember that when she finished, we would belt out the words to our favorite Frank Sinatra song, it felt like magic.

I sighed and looked over to the place I knew was on top of the sharp metal and frowned.

My fingers shook. My whole body shook, looking at the floor above the crate. If almost just to prove to myself that I hadn't made it up, I found myself wanting to go and see them… and hide them.

I laughed a disbelieving, short laugh, where in the world would I hide them where Mike wouldn't find them. In plain sight? That would go well…

Without even thinking it through, I found myself crawling towards it again. With hesitant and eager fingers, I opened the crate again, only to slam it down again in frustration and anger. My mind hadn't just conjured it up… it was real, it was gruesome, and I hated it.

I looked at the floor, fresh tears springing to my eyes, how could this be happening to me… I was in this glass room with bloody knives. Why couldn't I stop thinking about it?

Slowly, I opened it again, and I kept it open. I folded the top over all the way, my eyes darting towards the door, no one. I sighed and before any rational thought processed in my head; my hand grabbed one of the long, bloody, sharp weapons.

As I tightened my hold on it, I folded the floor back over the crate and slid back into the corner, knife in hand.

I stared at the bloody knife, I couldn't tell the dried blood from the knife to my own. Honestly, I didn't know what I was going to do with the knife… if it made any sense, it felt kind of safe, and it felt like I had something to protect me.

And it was true, I _did _have something to protect me, but I wouldn't know how to use it when the time came and that scared me, forcing me to clutch the weapon closer to my chest. Tears clouded my vision and my hands caressed the valuable weapon as if it were the most important thing in the world.

My sobs came to a halt and my eyes widened.

I heard loud, heavy footsteps coming from down the tunnel. This was Mike, I knew it. From all of the shaking I was doing, the knife clattered to the ground, and it was the only thing I could hear, other than the footsteps stomping… growing louder and louder.

I bit my lip harshly to keep from sleeping, this was it, my whole body felt numb, and knowing what was going to come.

I shook my head over and over again, muttering no over and over again. My whole body was shaking; over and over again.

I heard the footsteps coming down the hall and I forced my shaky hand to cover my mouth to muffle the whimpers that managed to escape me. I huddled in the corner with my eyes wide, my free hand still in a fist.

The footsteps only got louder, and I ducked my head into my arms, awaiting the man I loathed to come in and do… the unthinkable to me. The unthinkable meaning making me bleed even more than I already was which made me cry louder.

My fingers that covered my mouth were frozen to the shape of the knife I had dropped.

"Yeah… make sure you lock the door though, he really said that?" A gruff voice called from the hall, and I almost cried out with relief when I found that the voice didn't belong to Mike.

"No. I gotta stay here, but I think I might…"

I heard a coarse laugh and a chuckle, "Sure… but don't wear yourself our trying to make sure no one gets in there, whatever and whoever might go in there can't be worse than Mike and what he's going to do…"

I heard an over exaggerated sigh and a snapping sound of plastic before one of them talked again.

"Yeah… I don't know what he's going to do… but it's gonna be bad if she's in _this _room, and since I'd prefer not to get my ass kicked because I didn't do my job."

My face paled. What did 'this' room mean, was this a special room? I mentally rolled my eyes and looked at the crate.

At least it wasn't Mike.

But, he's going to come soon… that was almost worse, increasing my anticipation tenfold.

I groaned and dropped my hand from my mouth as I heard one set of retreating footsteps… maybe… I tried to be discreet and quiet as I tip-toed to the door, pressing my ear up against the cold wood.

I almost whined in disappointment when I heard a guard's steady breathing outside the door. With slumped shoulders, I made my way back to my corner with my eyes closed, and slid down the glass wall, onto the floor, something cold.

I was so stupid, I should've tried to make an escape while they were talking and distracted. I failed that. What else could I do? There wasn't anything else that was logical to do now except for wait.

I shifted my position on the floor and winced, I felt a pain in my back. My eyes flew open in confusion and I reached behind my back and felt something sticky. My eyes widened, I knew what it was, and I had felt it so many times.

Blood.

My blood.

I didn't need to see it to know what it was, I pressed my hand against the glass wall and cursed, wincing as my hand came in contact with shards of glass.

I slowly backed away from the sharp glass and groaned, "Perfect…" I muttered to myself as I examined my back from another mirror. There were a couple of shards sticking into my back, not large enough to make me notice them apparently. I knew too much pain for this to hurt.

I looked at the wall of glass, and… oh… the knife I had dropped had smashed into it, and my heart had been beating too fast to realize that I had even broken the wall. I had a feeling Mike wouldn't be too forgiving and I stomped my foot.

This was frustrating, I pursed my lips as I reached behind me, trying to take the protruding glass from my back, I tried to get a right angle… but it wasn't working… I winced as I tugged wrong and tried to whimper quietly, I looked at the glass in my back, coated with a little bit of blood.

I was a vision. Blood spattered camisole, bloody neck, bloody hands, and bloody back. My whole body was throbbing from the pain and I closed my eyes, forcing myself to think about something hopeful…

Well, if Mike was just going to torture me, and eventually kill me… that's not hopeful. Hmm, what if I just stabbed him as soon as he came in here. I frowned, with my luck; he would be backed with guards. Wonderful…

I sighed and opened my eyes, only looking at my own eyes as I sat down. I didn't like what I saw in them, I saw defeat, and I saw the dull brown eyes of a woman who was giving up. I growled, a reflex reaction I had picked up from Edward when he was angry.

This wasn't right, I should be fighting to the end, and I should be fighting for everyone I love.

Correction, I _would_ be fighting for them, I would be fighting for justice against Mike and Marcus, and for those screamers in the now distant rooms. Something had to happen, and I had to make it happen.

I stood up and paced the room, tapping my chin with my finger as I stared off into space.

So… if I tried to stab Mike… it wouldn't work. It wouldn't work if I tried to fight, I knew that. What would work, then?

I sighed as I thought of all of the different possibilities of what I could do.I sighed as I realized none of my scenarios were possible or rational.

I sighed, I had let myself down, and I had let everyone down… just because of my lack of a way to get out of here. I knew I could… if I could just… but 'ifs' don't count. I had to think up something.

I spent the next hour probably… trying to conjure up something to get me out of here; I pressed my ear up against the door countless times, trying to figure out whether the room was guarded. It always was.

So what was I supposed to do? I sat down-carefully- next to the broken glass and shook my head, tears springing to my eyes.

I looked at where the knife I had dropped, causing the wall to break and pursed my lips, I gripped the knife and pulled it out of the wall, causing it to break a little more.

Great, now I was breaking the wall.

I gasped and my mind froze, breaking the wall… I covered my mouth to muffle my scream of joy and looked at the broken wall, dumbfounded; I had suddenly found a way to maybe get out of here. Maybe was enough. Tentatively and with a fast beating heart, I walked to the wall and listened at the door, the guard was still there, breathing deeply.

I bit my lip, walking back towards the break in the wall, knife in hand, looking like a madwoman. But I couldn't bring myself to care. Nothing would get in the way of what I wanted now.

Trying not to make any noise, I bent to the ground before the break I had created and took a deep breath, rewrapping my fingers around the knife and holding it up to the break. My breath was ragged and my gaze was determined… fixed upon the crack in the wall.

I brought the knife forward several times, but always retreated, being too scared. Then I was reminded of my motive for doing this.

Nessie.

Edward.

Dad.

Justice.

I pursed my lips as fire ran through my body; I took one last, uncaring glance at the door before I pounded the knife into the glass.

I gasped as the boisterous sound of shattering glass filled the room. My eyes widened and I backed up, I could barely hear my scream over the loud cracks. I looked at the broken wall. It looked like an abstract painting with all of the lines and colors, except that this didn't have any color, and the cracks were bigger. Some of the cracks spread to other walls and I gulped.

I let the knife clatter to the ground once all of the noise was over, and I looked at the door, slowly and wide eyed. I made my way over to it and pressed my ear up to the door, hesitant.

I felt a small rustling and some breaths. I figured it was fine.

The powerful relief swept through my body as I felt a new surge of adrenaline come through me and my heart started pounded in accordance with the shakes in my hands.

I gulped back the lump in my throat and walked forward to the wall. The glass coated half the wall, and the other half was dark… I couldn't see behind it. For all I knew… there could be another wall, just painted black… I think it might've been a tunnel though.

I walked forward and reached out to meet cold air, there wasn't another wall… I realized with shock and relief.

So… I was suddenly wishing I had a flashlight so I could see what was inside of it. I pursed my lips in frustration… I knew I had to go in there and soon.

"No sleeping on the job, Hendrickson!" I gasped as I heard Mike's voice reprimand someone outside of the door.

I widened my eyes and footsteps came to the door and someone mumbled an apology and fumbled with what sounded like a pair of keys.

"Shit!" I cursed when I heard the knob on the door turn.

With wide eyes, I leaped into the darkness before me, forcing the knife in a loop of my camouflage pants. I ran forward on pure adrenaline.

My breath was ragged as my mind was worried that I could be sprinting into a wall at any second, but I couldn't bring my body to respond as I heard Mike's enraged roar erupt from about 30 feet behind me.

I willed my feet to move faster and my arms to propel me through whatever this was… another tunnel I think, and it was small.

I heard loud, fast pace, running feet behind me and my scream filled the tunnel.

Sobs escaped my lips as my face smashed into a wall. My eyes widened and I forced my hands to move and find another way out.

To my right there was another passage, wider, and I eagerly made my way inside of it, running and crying.

The farther and faster I ran, the closer he seemed to get. I saw a small light at the end of the tunnel and I ran for it as if it were my daughter or Edward.

"AHHH Get back here, Isabella!" I heard Mike's rough voice call out from behind me and I screamed, forcing my legs to move faster although they were getting sore.

The pads of my feet slammed against the cold ground with immense force every time one of my feet landed on the floor. My breaths were ragged and uncomfortable, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

The small light got closer and closer and as I looked back, the small light allowed me to see that Mike was about 25 feet away, the devil's expression on his face made him all the more scary. His legs looked faster than mine and a stumbled a bit when I saw the knife in his hand. I quickly tried to regain my footing.

I looked at the small light ahead of me, getting bigger and bigger the faster I ran. I swung my limbs faster to reach the light- a way out.

I made myself run faster, towards the light, feeling so fast… it was like I was flying. I heard Mike coming closer and I finally stopped at the light, which was in the ceiling.

It was an open, metal tube. Mike was twenty feet away and I jumped as high as I could, my left hand clamped down on the metal as I used all of my strength to pull myself up, I was almost all the way in when I felt a restricting hand on my leg. I screamed and tried to shake Mike off of my leg. It wasn't working.

His hand reached further up my leg, pulling my down with a renewed force.

He tried to pull me down with his hand and I heard the guards running close behind. I made a grunt and tears filled my eyes as new determination flooded through me.

Without even thinking, I pulled out my knife, and crushed it into the nearest part of him that I could reach. That happened to be his forearm. His eyes bulged and he screamed as he moved his hand off of me to hold his arm.

Wasting no time, I quickly hoisted myself up into the metal tunnel, and cried out as I felt my heel slice open against the cold metal of the tunnel. Pushing the pain away, I crawled forward and heard another roar from Mike. My heart started pounding faster and faster until I couldn't feel my legs anymore.

I was about two feet from the entrance when I saw one of Mike's guards hands clench around the metal. I let out an earsplitting scream and pushed against the narrow walls of the tunnel to propel myself forward.

I felt pressure on the tunnel behind me and my hands automatically pushed themselves faster against the metal, my left heel was dragging itself along with my body as I felt some blood pouring out.

I heard a deep breathing behind me that came from clenched teeth, about 25 feet away. I desperately searched for another way to crawl; it felt like it was getting smaller in here.

My heart pounded harder when I looked behind me to find the same guard who dragged me down to the death room holding out a hand to pull on my sore ankle.

With all of the strength I could muster up, I pulled my leg forward.

He was about 20 feet away now and I whimpered as my hand fell onto the floor of the tunnel, not finding any way to propel itself from.

"Damnit!" I shouted in frustration, before I realized what 'no wall' meant. My head snapped in the direction of the non wall to find another entrance, significantly smaller, I didn't think I'd fit.

I looked back at the guard before hoisting myself up into the tiny crevice and pushing myself further still.

I heard the irate shout of the guard behind me and sighed in a small amount of relief, I _knew _he couldn't fit through here.

With that knowledge, I sat down for a bit. I screamed again when I saw a strong arm come up through my hiding spot; I pushed myself further into the small tunnel, until the hand was safely 30 feet away. The cramped nature of this tunnel was hard to bear as I pushed myself through it.

Each shove further into it was a struggle. I decided to lay there for a bit and collect my thoughts, with the knowledge that I was safe for a little while.

What was I supposed to do now? The searing pain that spread throughout my body wasn't helping to stop the whimpering or the tears.

Where were Edward and Renesmee and mom and dad? Were they okay? Did they even find mom?

I took comfort in the thought that I had it the worst. Was I ever going to save them without moving though? No.

With a sigh, I lifted myself further into the tunnel, keeping careful of my foot while I was at it, and any other part of my body that was suffering.

My eyes closed in pain as pushing myself forward grew tiresome and painful. I found that as the adrenaline wore off, more pain entered my body. I thought of Edward. He was why I was doing this, and Nessie and mom and dad.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another entrance. It was at the bottom though with a vent over it. Gingerly, I flipped myself over and lowered my eye onto a crease where I could see.

As I looked at the picture before me I froze. I was all too familiar with it.

Inside of the tiny, white room, there was a girl about the age of twenty. She was lying on the floor, she looked very weak and had labored breaths.

She had black hair and there was blood splattered on her body.

"Oh my God." I breathed.

I ducked my head out of the horrid sight. I shook with even more pain as I realized that I _wasn't _the only woman in here.

I was shaky as I propelled myself further, sending positive thoughts towards this girl. About ten feet ahead, I saw another vent.

I struggled to push myself towards it, and looked inside, my eyes widened as I saw the same scene as the one in the last room. There were three of us…

I pushed myself further still. In another ten feet or so, I looked to see another vent. My eyebrows knit together in confusion as I saw the same sight as before.

I looked ahead of me and my face turned white, vents lined themselves up every ten feet, and I didn't have to look into them to know what I would see. There was an endless amount of them. I gulped.

I looked behind me, at where I had entered about 30 or 40 feet ago, beyond where I came in, more vents were lined up. I looked ahead of me to a metal wall.

There weren't just three of us. There were _thousands._ My eyes widened as the seriousness of the situation sunk in.

A vivid memory of entering this hell came into my head… all of the rooms, it made sense. It was like a deluge of unwilling and weak women… all for the purpose of making Mike feel superior.

A million thoughts whirled in my head. Why would there be so many? Why was I here? And of course, where was my family.

I shook with the sudden realization that this, whatever it was, was much bigger than me, and I'd be lucky to make it out alive.

My family would be lucky to make it alive.

I pursed my lips as I crawled forward, every ten or so feet glancing down to a weak woman who was whimpering. It seemed like I was looking into too many rooms, seeing too many struggling women who needed to be out of this… place… whatever it was. I pulled myself further and further. The pain, it grew stronger and stronger, I grew tired quickly, and I fought the common urge to lie down and rest. I had no time for that.

I had time for nothing, and I had no clue where I was going, for all I knew, I could be going in the opposite direction of where they were, thousands of feet from my final destination and only getting further away. I groaned when I heard my stomach growl, what else could go wrong?

I tried to think positive as I crawled further along. The pain was going through my body. The hunger got worse. The time seemed like it prolonged itself on purpose. Everything was wrong.

I found myself scooting to the middle of two vents, and shaking, panting. This is how I imagined someone on death row looking, maybe less pathetic and bloody.

What was this? Some sort of mental facility? Why were so many women here?

The thing was I had to push it aside because it didn't matter. My questions had to be left for a time less… what's the word for when you're stuck in a huge house with murderers running after you…?- yeah, that word.

Tentatively, I pulled myself further along the cold, metal, vent system. With every pull of my hands, I thought of my reasons for doing this. I had to push away all questions and negatives, and find them.

With a groan, I realized I didn't have much of a game plan for after and if I found them. What was I supposed to do, get in there and wait for death? If I was separated from them, there's a good chance they were separated from each other.

Damn.

Absorbed in my thoughts, I didn't realized just how much pain I was in, I bit my lip to suppress any sort of noise and laid down next to a vent I didn't bother to look into.

"Mmm, say it again, darling, _beg _me."

My head snapped up and I put my ear closer to the vent.

A sob was distinct in the room.

"A little shy today? Ahh," came the menacing voice I had grown to hate, "yesterday you were _very _adamant in begging me to let you go, hmm, I don't think that'll happen any time soon."

I heard a smack, like skin hitting skin, and what sounded like someone being thrown to the ground. I heard a whimper and a sadistic laugh, and I leaned down partly to look through the vent.

The sight was much the same as the others, but I gulped as I saw Mike in there, crouching over this innocent girl as she sobbed on the ground.

Except, his arm was wrapped up and bloody, I took pride in the fact that I did it.

He laughed at her and back away.

"I never get tired of that, you know. Got places to go, slut, bye."

He waved at her like a bully would wave at a nerd, superiority exuding his every movement and I fought the urge to growl.

He turned to leave the weak girl and out of my peripheral vision, I saw something small and silver fall from his pocket and, unseen, land in the corner of the room.

He walked out of the door, locked it, and left the most likely innocent girl huddled on the floor, shaking and crying, a position in which I was all too familiar with.

She had dark hair, a small body, and light, scared eyes.

I felt for her and I was irate with Mike, as I leaned down onto the vent, I spoke unthinkingly.

"The stupid bastard." Apparently it was loud enough for her to hear because her head darted from side to side.

"Who's there?!" her shrill voice rang out into the room.

I tightened my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Damn, uh… up here?" I said.

She lifted up her head to the ceiling, and then the vent, where she must've seen the outline of my bloody body, but it was probably too dark up here for her to make out any of the blood, and for that I was thankful.

"W-who are y-you?" she asked quietly, through her tears.

I sighed, "I'm Bella…" I said reluctantly.

"W-what is this place? Why am I here? Where's my mom?" she asked, needy.

I sighed again. I made no effort to answer, but instead my eyes landed on the silver thing Mike dropped at the corner of the room.

My eyebrows knit together in confusion, it looked to me like a- "Cell phone!"

I shouted without noticing and instantly covered up my mouth.

The girl looked around, "Um… where, the only things I see are white walls."

I pursed my lips, "In the corner… over there, you've _got _to give it to me."

She gasped when she saw it, running to it and holding it in her small palm like it was the Holy Grail.

"Uh huh! I'm calling the police!" She flipped open the phone.

"Wait!" I pushed out my hand to stop her but all my hand met was metal.

"Why! Don't you wanna get out as much as I want to?" she looked confused.

I pursed my lips, "Yeah… but hold on long enough to let me tell you why that won't work."

"Um… why would I listen to a girl I've never met… who is inside of a vent?"

"Please, just give me time to explain!" I pleaded with her.

"Why would I do that?" she crossed her arms defensively.

"Because my dad's a cop, and he's stuck in here too, so is my boyfriend and my mom and my _daughter_, everything I cherish is in here and I plan on getting them out, along with every tortured girl in here! Why do you think I'd throw that away by doing something stupid with the phone?!" I said in a hurry.

She looked from me to the phone wearily and after a moment of thought sighed.

She cocked her head to the side, "Okay… but how are you going to get it…?"

I opened my mouth to speak only to close it again and blink; I didn't have an answer to that.

"Um…"

She sighed.

"Wait! When does Mike come back in here again?" I asked, trying to think of something.

She shivered, "He has so many of us here that he only has enough time to come in once a weak… you'll be safe from him, hey, does the vent have bolts?"

I ignored the latter half of her statement and reached down for my knife… to find I didn't have it. I groaned, I couldn't get in that way.

"Do you have anything sharp down there?" I asked and she shook her head.

"No."

I groaned.

Wait, I still had one good leg left. With that idea, I scooted back to get a better angle for kicking.

"Move as for from the vent as you can."

I didn't wait for a response as my foot slammed down onto the vent, shaking it only a little, with as much force as I could muster, I kicked it in again.

It made a creaking noise and my eyes lit up, my hands reached down to shake it, and with a few tugs, it opened just enough for me to squeeze through.

I, gingerly, lowered myself into it until I lost my grip and yelped as I hit the floor, struggling to stand up.

I brushed off my bloody clothes.

I heard the girl scream.

"What happened to you?!" she looked at me, horrified.

I looked at her, confused.

I then looked at myself, noting the bloody camo pants and white (and red) cami, the bloody neck, the cut ankle, the now bloody foot from kicking the vent, and my nearly healed wrists. Oh yeah, my back too but she couldn't see that.

I let out a dry chuckle, "I know, beautiful, huh?"

She backed into a corner, "Y-you look like a… a dead person."

I gave her a glare, "Thanks, can you hand me the phone now?"

She tossed it to me and I caught it with ease, "Hey, you got a name?"

"M-Megan…"

"Okay Megan, let's do this quickly, Mike will soon realize that his phone is missing."

She nodded in agreement and I noticed the red marks all over her body and I frowned.

"You don't look too good yourself," I muttered, "Okay," I sat down and motioned for her to join me, "we can't call the police, I have no family I can access or call…"

She pursed her lips, "Why did I give you the phone, Bella, if you didn't know what to do with it?"

"Shut up." I said automatically as I looked at the phone.

"Edward! We can call him, I mean… Mike's phone has some bars."

"Who's he, boyfriend?"

I nodded and waited for her approval.

She nodded her assent as I dialed Edward's familiar cell number. Three rings. No answer. I pursed my lips. I didn't tell Megan, but I let it go to voicemail so I could hear his voice.

I snapped the phone shut and shook my head at Megan's hopeful expression. Even though there was no chance that it would work, I shot him a text.

_Edward._

_I'm okay._

_With a girl named Megan on Mike's phone._

_Love you._

_Coming._

_Bella._

Yeah, zero percent chance of that getting to him, but I had to try, right? I didn't know who else to talk to.

I knew we couldn't stay here for long before Mike got tired of my winning, I _knew _the reason he hit Megan was because he was mad at me, he was probably looking in all the rooms to see if I was there.

I gasped, that was _exactly_ what he was doing and I had to get the hell out of here before he came back.

I bit my lip, thinking.

Well, we could leave through the doors, or the vent.

I didn't know where else the vent would lead, but going out into the open in a sizable house with guards didn't sound as promising as the vent.

I sighed and turned toward it.

"Let's go." I said, determined.

"What, _no, _I can't… I mean… how would we even get up there?"

My smiled faltered. "Are you always so pessimistic?"

She snorted, "You would've had to think about it sometime…"

I sighed, dejected. She was right.

I would've tried to jump and see if I could catch it on the edge, but my legs didn't have the strength, and it would make me lose blood faster, I looked to Megan.

She rolled her eyes and crouched in front of the vent. She leapt as high as her 5'9 height would allow, and her fingers just barely brushed the metal before she fell to the ground. And although the look on her face was funny, it didn't help me at all.

I groaned, "Try again?"

She leaned back onto the floor, "No more energy."

I bit my lip, "What if you lifted me up, and then you jumped and grabbed my hand?"

She groaned, "Why can't you-"she looked at my appearance and quickly nodded.

It was pretty clear that I couldn't even lift a rat at this point.

She reluctantly crouched down and I carefully made my way onto her shoulders. She lifted herself as high as she could go, and it took a lot of effort to stretch my torso enough to grip the metal and I made weird noises as I struggled to pull myself up. I think I've gained more arm muscles since I met Mike and Marcus than I've ever had.

Yay.

I quickly flipped myself over to reach as far as I could for Megan's hand. She crouched down again, and jumped. I grabbed her arm with as much force as I could and pulled her up. I had to take a moment to regain my composure from the small amount of physical exertion.

Megan waited patiently for me, "Hey… you aren't going to die on me, are you…?"

She smiled playfully at me and I snorted.

I took the vent and covered the hole, pressing it down as much as I could. I struggled a bit, but I got it down enough so that if you took a first look at it you couldn't really tell it'd been moved at all.

I sat up and looked at Megan, "What now…" she asked and I shrugged.

"Do you happen to know where my boyfriend is…?" I asked.

She thought for a moment.

"Um… does he have like… goldish hair and green eyes?"

My eyes widened, "Yes! Where is her?! Am I going the wrong way?!"

I looked around and she shook me by the shoulders, "Breathe, Bella! Let me concentrate!"

She looked at me, disapproving as I sat there silently, with a high pulse.

She closed her eyes, "I haven't seen him," I was immediately confused, "but Mike was all prideful as he told me 'Yeah, got her boyfriend too. Don't remember 'is name though… weird yellow hair and green eyes, that one. My son would've been much better.'"

She sighed, "Then he went on to say how he had a 'special room for all of you', um… I don't remember exactly where it was… but I have a pretty good hunch that we're going the wrong way, see, I've been in his room before, it's one of his glassy torture rooms, I feel bad for him."

I stared at her, shocked. "You mean to say, that I was right next to him the whole time?! Assuming all the glass rooms are together of course, but really?!"

She smiled apologetically. "Afraid so, chicky, looks like you know the way back better than me, but… but please don't leave me here!"

I assured her I wouldn't and went into some shock. I didn't want to go back there… what if there were still guards there?

I pursed my lips. This was for my family; I would die for them, gladly.

I led the way back to where I came from; making sure Megan was with me. My breathing was labored and I tried to be quiet, but the noise that my knees and hands made against the metal, I began to grow cold as well.

I tried to think back the way I came and gulped, even if I _could _manage to get back to where I came from, there would undoubtedly be guards there, if not Mike himself, and going through that wet tunnel again… the very same place where my blood was probably coating many of the surfaces.

On the way back, or where I thought it was, I told Megan more about the tunnel, about my daughter and Edward… about Marcus and Mike in high school.

She stayed quiet while I spoke, and I almost felt guilty about taking up all the time for myself, but I decided that speaking my motives for getting out alive helped me stay sane and shrugged it off.

"So… you've basically been on the run from this guy for a while, huh?"

I nodded, then remembered she couldn't see me, "Yeah, the guy sucks, he even sent cannibals after me."

"Really?!" I felt her shiver.

"Yupp. That's not even the worst of it."

She made a groaning noise and yawned as I shivered and my teeth chattered from the cold. It must have been night, which meant I had been bleeding, and on my hands and knees for over 6 hours.

Hours later I felt my body go into automatic while I crawled, I tried in earnest to remember every twist and turn, until I got to the crawl space I got into when I first saw the light.

Astonished, I stopped at the opening to the tunnel, and I felt a sluggish Megan bump into me as I stared at it.

She yawned. "Is that it?"

I choked on air, "Um… yeah, we got down there, there will most likely be guards, and I have no clue how to evade them, but we have to try." I gulped, "um… so… you say along this corridor, there are other glass rooms?"

She nodded and looked conflicted on how to do this. I looked at the damp ground. I gasped, there was my knife, _this _is where I must've dropped it.

Carefully, I lowered myself enough to peek down and search for guards. At the far end of the tunnel, I saw a pacing shadow going back and forth from the entrance, and one that looked like he was on the edge of sleep.

I lifted myself back up to Megan and nodded, putting my finger over my lips and silently asking her to be quiet.

Her face was etched with fear and her nodded and gulped, all traces of needing sleep suddenly disappearing as she looked at me with worry. I pursed my lips. I _knew_ I couldn't try running, in my current condition, I could barely walk.

I whispered to Megan. "Should we wait it out?"

She shook her head and whispered back, "No, he'll have guards here all night."

I sighed, I knew she was right, and I couldn't rely on the small hope that they would leave my family unguarded. They probably wouldn't be easy on the lookout (for me) either. I was on a tight leash.

"What should we do, then?" she whispered and I bit my lip.

Suddenly, my eyes brightened and I took her hand, "I have a plan, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Shoot." She whispered wearily.

"Okay," I whispered, "you see that knife?" I asked.

She nodded, then looked at me with surprise, whisper/yelling/hissing at me, "You want to try to _kill_ them?! You're crazy!"

I shrugged, "Do you have a better plan?

She pleaded with me in a small whisper, "Bella, they probably have guns."

I groaned and leaned on the wall of the vent, looking at the opening with my blood sealed on its side.

"Is there another way into the glass rooms then?"

She sighed, and thought it over, "Um… I don't really remember all that much, it _is _a torture room, I was focused on living more than if there was a vent in the ceiling… although-"

I cut her off, "Please try to remember."

She closed her eyes, and if I hadn't seen the crease in her brow, I would've guessed she was asleep. She winced at some memory, and then thought harder, the concentration on her face was heavy. I let her think, but looked at her unresponsive form expectantly.

"Well…" she paused, finally opening her eyes to look at me and I raised my eyebrows, "I _think_ there's an entrance over there."

She pointed to another entrance to our right, "Yeah, over there, you continue about 20 feet and you're there."

She looked unsure, but it was the only lead I had at the time so I had to go with it. I started crawling and heard her follow me.

"Wait, Pendergast, I heard something…"

I heard a groan and Megan and I simultaneously froze in our places.

"Shut up, Ipolito, and let me sleep."

I heard a dry chuckle, "Fine, I'll go see what it was, it sounds like it came from the vent…"

I heard a set of footsteps coming this way and tried to move forward as fast as I could.

It made too much noise and I heard Megan tap my back.

"B-Bella, go… go find your family, I'll stay and make a distraction."

I saw the sacrifice in her eyes and was about to protest when we heard Pendergast speak.

"Hey! Who's up there!" I gasped and Megan pushed me forward before I had a chance to speak and gave her safety for a stranger.

"Here, asshole! I'm up here!" Megan nodded to me and pushed me into the entrance, forcing me to save myself.

I made a mental note to come back for her.

Megan with the slight frame, dark hair, and light eyes.

I snuggled into the corner of the entrance as I heard Megan being pulled down from the vent and metal hitting metal before she was dragged off by Pendergast.

I let out a sob for her and hoped for her well being. I forced my hand over my mouth to muffle noises and the woman I had grown to owe my life had just given me means of escape, of finding my family.

I shook my head and leaned around the corner to see what the metal on metal sound was. I was even more grateful to Megan. Lying there was my knife, tossed up by Megan in her time of doom.

I held the knife in my hands, taking a moment to cry for Megan. I prayed that she was okay and the worst they had done was stick her back in that horrid room.

I didn't have much time to spare though. Although she was still on my mind, I went in search for Edward's room.

I would've hoped that they hadn't stuck him in a torture room, but knowing the menace Mike was, he probably stuck him in one just to provoke me.

I crawled forward, looking into every room, and Megan was right, there were a lot of rooms. I had looked into about three before the fourth one caught my attention.

I had almost looked over it before I heard talking.

"Fucking asshole. _My _girlfriend. _Mine_. Bastard."

I bit my lip, I'd know that cussing anywhere, it was the same cussing of Edward's that turned me on, on almost a daily basis.

"Edward?" I asked quietly to the vent. I didn't see him, only the floor.

I heard his familiar chuckle, "Great, now I'm hearing things."

"Edward?!" I pounded on the vent.

I heard footsteps as he stepped underneath the vent.

I almost cried when I saw his gorgeous head on bronze hair look up at the vent, he could obviously see the outline of my body and reached up, almost as it expecting me to disappear.

"Bella…" he spoke in wonder.

One of my tears fell against the vent, just barely being caught by the metal.

I shivered.

"How do you open it?!"

I shrugged, "Erm… I kicked it last time, but I don't think I have the strength-"

Edward cut my off by reaching up, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, and ripping off the vent and placing it on the ground, trying not to make noise.

Next he held out his strong arms, and, with a trust I didn't know I had, I dropped myself into them, nuzzling my head into the crook of his neck as he stroked my back, kissing my head with his eyes closed.

I sighed, content in wrapping my arms around his neck as he rocked me back and forth, murmuring I love you's and I'm glad you're back's.

I snuggled into his warm embrace and I stepped off of him, reluctantly, and he smiled, content, and opened his eyes.

His expression turned to horror as he took on my appearance.

"Beautiful… huh?" I challenged him to say something else, but the thing he did was take on an expression of anguish.

He shook his head, bringing himself out of a daze.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked and he shrugged.

He looked at my waist, first at the knife, and then at the phone I had no idea what to do with.

His eyes widened again, "You're _kidding _me, Bella, right? Why didn't you call the police or Alice…?"

I crossed my arms defensively, "I didn't want to do anything without consulting you first."

He stared at me, incredulous, and then he kissed the top of my head, reaching to take the phone. I stopped him, we didn't know who to call yet and nothing could back me down. He sighed, trailing his fingers up and down my sides, and leaned in to kiss me.

Immediately, my knees went weak as soon as he bent his head to lick my lower lip and I moaned, throwing my hands up to tug at his hair.

He smiled against my lips, and leaned back, leaving me panting as I looked at him, dialing the phone.

My smile faltered, it took him less than five seconds to shake my resolve and I crossed my arms and pouted as he probably called his family.

He smirked at me and in a disembodied voice, spoke softly into the phone.

About five minutes later, he turned back to me, and kissed my with genuine joy and vigor, which I didn't need much convincing to return.

His arms snaked around me and he whispered against my forehead.

"It's over now."

And I must've fallen asleep at some point, because I awoke to the scenery of the mansion, at night, surrounded by red and blue lights. My tired eyes looked further around and saw at least three thousand girls surrounding us, talking to police officers.

I was wrapped in a blanket and the last thing my eyes locked on was my mother's face.

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	26. Death By What? And Mm Edward Yes! redone

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

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**Last chapter-**

About five minutes later, he turned back to me, and kissed my with genuine joy and vigor, which I didn't need much convincing to return.

His arms snaked around me and he whispered against my forehead.

"It's over now."

And I must've fallen asleep at some point, because I awoke to the scenery of the mansion, at night, surrounded by red and blue lights. My tired eyes looked further around and saw at least three thousand girls surrounding us, talking to police officers.

I was wrapped in a blanket and the last thing my eyes locked on was my mother's face.

**This chapter-**

B.P.O.V.

If I hadn't been in Edward's arms, I would have fallen down sobbing. There, about 30 feet from my, sat my mother on a chair.

She was wrapped up in my father, him kissing her face, rocking her back and forth, joy and tears coming from him like an influx.

My mother was closing her eyes, shaking as her flushed and bony form clung to him with more force than I would've guessed she had.

I felt the intense need to engage in the hug so badly that I actually reached out. I felt Edward kiss my neck once and set me down on my feet, making sure I was stable before letting me walk. I stumbled a bit and looked down at my feet, I trailed my eyes up my body and realized that I had been clothed and bandaged.

I didn't want to ruin my parent's moment… so I stood there awkwardly… 28 feet away. There were police around them too. I turned back and smashed into Edward, who rubbed my back reassuringly.

He lifted up my chin, kissing me lightly and looking into my eyes, silently telling me to go to them. I bit my lip and he reached up to remove it with the pad of his thumb, with which caused a personal battle between good Bella and bad Bella not to lick it.

As if reading my thoughts, he stifled a chuckle and raised his eyebrows, as if challenging me to do just that.

I blushed again and bit my tongue, controlling it. I shuffled my feet and hugged Edward, he laid his chin on my head and sighed, content.

'It's over.' Edward had said. They were the most amazing words I had ever heard. At that moment I had known that all the blood and gore was over, all the horror was gone.

A police officer came up to us, and I instinctively moved to Edward's side, his arm still wrapped around me.

"Officer." Edward and I said in unison and we smiled.

He flipped over a writing pad. "Ms. Swan, Mr. Cullen, first I would like to inform you that your daughter is in temporary custody of Alice Cullen, and is ready to be picked up at your command," he paused and we nodded, already knowing Alice would volunteer for that. "We know this may be a little difficult for you, but we need you, Renee and Charlie Swan to be at the arraignment for Mike Dellings."

I gulped and Edward rubbed my arm. We both nodded.

"The arraignment will be held this coming Tuesday," we raised our eyebrows, we had no clue what day it was, "It's Sunday, February the 10th, 2010. Anyways, I need you to discuss everything that happened to provide us with the most helpful information." He paused, "We will also be bringing in 25 of the women being held here."

My eyes widened, "Megan!" Edward and the officer looked at me in confusion and I shook Edward's arm, "She's why we're not still in there!"

Edward looked confused, but didn't enquire further. He looked at the officer and I screamed, "Megan!"

I looked around, and a tired girl under a blanket jerked awake. She looked around until her eyes landed on me.

Her eyes brightened, "Bella!"

She walked over to me and I hugged her, "See, I told you it would work out, did they find your mom?"

She nodded, still smiling. She pointed over behind me and I flipped around to see the thousands of girls again, I examined more closely this time and gasped, as many girls as I had seen, there were just as many mothers, and some fathers as well. She pointed back to her blanket, and beside, it, I saw her mother looking at us from afar, blue and red lights reflecting on her face.

It was evening, so it was basically the only means of light.

"Go, Megan, I'll see you." I gave her my empty promise and she knew it was empty from the look in her eyes, giving me one last hug goodbye, she looked at Edward and gave me an approving glance before jumping back into her mother's arms.

I turned back to said Edward, and kissed him, wrapping my arms around him as we rejoiced in the freedom. I tangled my fingers in his hair as we engaged in our loving kiss.

I sighed once we parted and smiled at him, but he was looking behind me, suddenly nervous. I turned back to see why, and was suddenly just as nervous.

Once I saw her, my knees gave out, and Edward reflexively caught me, about ten feet away, was my mother. I hardly knew how to handle myself.

Her delicate hands covered her face, her eyes red and blotchy from her tears, but they were happy, her eyes were happy and the tops of her cheeks were lifted while she looked at me. Her knees were shaking too, along with the rest of her body, but dad was holding her up. He and Edward exchanged a glance and walked us towards each other, unable to move ourselves and walked away together, laughing.

"M-mom." A deluge of tears flew from my eyes as I said her name.

She shook her head and muttered an unintelligible noise before opening her arms widely, "My darling…" she said religiously over and over again, smoothing out my hair as I rushed into her arms.

I cried into her neck. Except, it felt good this time. These weren't tears of sadness, anger, pain, or shock. The tears I was crying were because it was over, there was nothing else to fight against.

I wrapped my arms around her as we both sank to the cemented ground. Blue and red lights illuminated our faces as we sat, feeling like mother and daughter again.

After what seemed like the happiest minutes, hours, or days (whichever) of my life, I pulled back a couple of inches, "So… did anyone tell you about Nessie?"

She shook her head, still smoothing out my hair.

I smiled and tried to stand, but ended up falling again, I heard a familiar chuckle come from behind me and lift my tired form up, I snuggled into Edward's chest and yawned.

--

I woke up to rain pattering against the window and I groaned against a pillow and squinted, blinking a few times.

I slid my hand over something soft. Bedding. My eyes fluttered open in surprise.

I gasped and shot straight up. I looked around me and beside me, in what looked like a queen sized bed, there was an impression of what I recognized as Edward's shape.

I smiled lightly and stood up, wobbling slightly. As I regained my balance, I noticed I was wearing my dad's old high school jersey that I stole when I was a little girl to sleep in. A small smile lit up my face as I realized this was my dad's house.

I walked to the door and bit my lip, I wonder how long I was out.

I slowly walked downstairs and I heard Edward's soothing voice making easy conversation, I smelled coffee and tiptoed down the stairs and automatically went to hug my mother.

She hugged me closer to her and kissed my temple, "Good morning, my darling."

I smiled in response and gave her one last squeeze, and went to hug my dad, who tightened his grip on me and kissed my forehead, "Mornin' hon."

I gave my parents loving looks and looked at Edward, he was smiling at us and sitting on a bar stool, his fingers fiddling with his coffee cup.

I walked over to him and jumped up on his lap and gave him a backwards hug as he kissed my cheeks.

"Good morning, love." He said with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around me and smiled with me.

My mother was looking at us like nothing could bring her more joy. And although my father liked Edward, he didn't like our position but I ignored them.

"What'd I miss?"

Edward twisted me on his lap so he was halfway facing me, his hand on my knee, "Well, we were actually just waiting for you, we thought you'd want to tell Renee…" he trailed off.

About Renesmee, my mind added. I nodded, and suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach.

How was I to go about this… I looked at Edward, who nodded at me.

I bit my lip, "But shouldn't she actually be here…?" I asked.

Edward nodded his head, "Of course, Alice is on her way now."

"Really." I breathed out. "Well… I think it would be easier to explain if she was here, don't you think?"

My mother frowned, "I want to know who everyone's talking about… but… for now, I want to know when the date is?"

I looked at her in confusion, "The date for what?"

I cocked my head to the side.

Mom rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, "Isabella… you know what I'm talking about, the wedding date."

My eyes widened and I immediately shoved my head in Edward's shoulder, I could feel the smile on his face.

"Well, I'm fairly sure Bella would rather talk of something else, but we haven't really discussed a date yet."

My eyes widened, "We didn't even discuss getting married that much…"

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to marry Edward, I was in love with him, I was just wondering where this topic was coming from.

My mother smacked my arm, taking Edward by the arm and leading him in the other room, and he politely let her lead him.

"So, Edward, what do you think about a June wedding..." my mother's voice came out and I heard Edward chuckle, answering her.

"I think it'd be lovely but maybe…" his voice was out of hearing distance and I rolled my eyes, turning to my dad, giving him another spontaneous hug. He sighed, pulling me closer.

Everything was like a fairytale, nothing was wrong, it was perfect. Such of turn of events in the last few days, I must've slept for days.

There was one thing I wanted to know though…

"Dad? What happened to mom… or do you know?" I asked in a soft voice, trying and failing for casualness.

He sighed and looked at me sternly, "What happened to your mother is very complex Bella, I took the liberty of letting Edward tell her of what happened to you," I nodded that it was okay and he continued, "and she explained to us that Mike had kept her holed up in that… despicable place for years, since the very day you disappeared… you'll already hear too much at the arraignment tomorrow."

I nodded, and leaned in to hug him again and he smiled, I couldn't stop doing that.

I sighed as my hands laid on my dad's back as he hugged me back.

I gulped, "I still want to know more though, dad, what… what did Mike do to her? Why were there so many other girls there?"

My dad sighed, "Honey… I can't answer those questions, you'll hear more tomorrow."

I pursed my lips, so I wasn't supposed to learn about what happened to my mom until tomorrow? While she was in the other room with my –apparently- fiancé making wedding plans I didn't know about?

That didn't seem fair… "How will we explain about Renesmee, though?"

Dad smiled weakly, "Edward and I are going out… it's more of a mother/daughter conversation."

My mouth flew open and I groaned, rolling my eyes, "Thanks dad." I gave him a half hearted glare and he shrugged.

The doorbell rang, there's Alice. At least she'd be here for moral support.

I glanced at the door and as soon as I looked back for dad, he and Edward were in the garage and I huffed when I heard the car start.

But to Edward's defense, he kissed me on the cheek first and told me 'good luck'. But it was still flaky.

I was left in the kitchen with my mother, who I couldn't help but hug once more, and Alice rang the doorbell again.

I sighed and my mother kept her arm around me, she looked confused, but let me guide her to the door anyways.

I opened the door, and there stood Alice, holding Nessie in her arms, she looked annoyed.

"You know, it's one thing to call someone to make them fly down, but it's another thing to completely ignore that person when they ring the doorbell holding your-"

I clamped my hand over Alice's mouth. "Mom this is Alice. Alice this is mom."

My mom giggled, "Hello Alice."

Alice threw me a playful glare and handed Renesmee to me before hugging my mom, "How do you do, Renee."

"Are you Edward's sister?"

"Yeah, I am!" Alice replied.

"Oh Bella your soon to be sister in law is delightful!" mom said while clapping her hands.

Alice squealed, "Oh Bella! You didn't tell me, can I plan it?"

They both looked at me, pleading and I leaned down to kiss Nessie's temple.

"Can we talk about this some other time, Alice?"

Alice reluctantly let the subject go and my mom gasped, finally looking at the sleeping toddler in my arms.

"Bella…"

She looked at her, scrutinizing her, she looked at the familiar curls in her hair, the way her cheekbones looked like mine.

Mom let out a small scream, and, realizing she had woken her up, quieted herself, looking at me now.

"Is… is she…?"

Alice was smiling widely.

Nessie's eyes opened slowly, clamping back shut a couple of times before deciding to keep them open and stretching her tiny arms.

She yawned once before her gaze landed on her grandmother. Nessie wasn't stupid, and my mom and I looked alike. She would obviously see that.

"Grandma?" she asked, a bit hesitant.

Mom choked on a sob, and with shaky fingers, reached out to take her, I silently handed her to mom, smiling as she looked at her with wonder as she hugged her.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my mom's eyes sparkled with tears as she held her granddaughter.

"Her name is Renesmee, Nessie for short."

Alice subtly retreated into another room to give us privacy and I silently thanked her.

My mom lowered her to a position where she could cradle her in her arms and looked down at her like she was a miracle; and she was, a miracle that I loved. She kissed her sleepy head and rocked her back and forth. I lead her to the couch and she sat down, I followed, my knees tucked underneath me.

I could've sat and watched them all day, I could've been happy forever to have my family complete. This is what I had wanted, for years and years, all I had dreamed about is having a complete family.

I had nothing, and Edward gave me everything. My heart felt whole.

My mom and I ended up spending the whole day with Nessie, Alice had come back after an hour and was had played peek-a-boo with us for what seemed like hours.

I let Nessie get to know mom, and we were all enjoying ourselves by the end of the day. Everything would've been perfect… if I didn't have to deal with the arraignment and trial tomorrow.

Would Marcus be brought out of prison to be there? I knew Mike would be there… but how would my mom deal with that? How would _I _deal with it?

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize what time it was or that my Edward had shown up until I felt his lips on my own, and his arm around my shoulder.

Unable to mask my shock, I jumped, but soon melted into it, squeezing his shoulder before I parted.

My dad was glaring at the floor and Alice and mom seemed to be going on about my wedding.

I smacked Edward on the shoulder, "How come I didn't know I was agreeing to be married?"

He chuckled and leaned close to my ear, his lips grazing my lobe as he talked, "But my dear Bella, you already agreed."

"Whe-when." I asked in a shaky tone.

He chuckled and pulled away, his arm still around me. "You seem to forget that you sleep talk."

He winked at me and my eyes widened. I rolled my eyes, "Well, I'd rather be awake when you ask me."

He chuckled heartily. "Bella, love, _you _asked _me._"

I pursed my lips and collapsed against the back of the couch, I sighed dramatically, "Fine… I guess I'm stuck with you forever."

He smiled and rolled his eyes, pulling me back to him.

--

The rest of the evening was spent bonding with everyone. We let Nessie make a relationship, as much as she could, with her grandparents, and Alice left for a late flight back to Chicago, claiming that she couldn't stay for the arraignment because she missed Jasper, but we all knew she was too happy to deal with it. We all let her go.

We had all discussed what had happened to each of us, and I heard more than I wanted to hear about my mother.

In short, she had been bound and abused, thankfully, it was more mentally than physically. So, I had been through the worst.

I'm glad that my mom was too secure to have anything like that bother her; she was stronger than me.

I listened as my dad told us of his past five years of exploring the lifestyle of a social recluse.

I had expected most of the things they had said, and I was prepared enough for what I was going to hear tomorrow.

We all went to bed early that night, and I fell asleep in Edward's strong and warm arms.

--

I awoke with a gasp the next morning, feeling a strange, wet sensation on my neck. My eyebrows came together as I felt some pressure… like someone was biting me.

My hands flew up to grab soft curls and I gasped when I heard Edward's deep chuckle against my neck, I yanked his head up to mine and I kissed him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

What a way to wake up.

He pulled away, too soon, with a chuckle and a wink and I sighed, stretching.

"Well good morning to you too." I said, my voice still deep with sleep.

He laughed and rolled off of my, lazily folding his arms his head. He looked lovingly at me.

"Well, love, I wasn't really the one who woke you up, _you _woke _me _up with your… erm… _vivid_ dreams."

I was confused, what did he mean?

"Huh?"

He smirked and leaned down to kiss my neck, "You don't remember? The one with you and me… no clothing involved." He trailed his nose and lips up and down my neck and I blushed.

"Can you blame me…" I muttered, feeling less and less embarrassed the more he kissed me.

He leaned up to join my lips with his, "Wait… mm… wait."

I tried to push him away with almost no given strength, powerless against his lips.

He pulled away and sat up, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, you, my very horny girlfriend, have to get dressed for the trial today."

I sighed, all thoughts, or… um… close to all, about sex exited my mind as I got up, going to get dressed.

--

You could cut the tension in the room downstairs with a butcher knife. I shifted on my feet as everyone gathered in the room, solemn thoughts and feelings filling our minds and hearts.

I gulped. Mom was engaged in a hug with dad, Nessie snuggled between them as Edward stood next to me, rubbing my arm because he knew how hard it was for me.

I felt slightly vacant, I had just escaped from all of this, could I really face them again?

With my family there… with Edward there… yes, I knew I could.

But it would be just as hard to look Mike and Marcus in the eyes.

Tears threatened to brim over my eyes and I tried to blink them away, and when I couldn't, Edward wiped them away for me with the pads of his thumbs, and when he was satisfied that they were gone, he kissed my eyelids and gave me a hug.

I sighed, "We should go." I said softly, and then looked at Nessie. "I don't want her going, though." I bit my lip and turned to Edward.

He sighed and kissed my cheek, "Do you want me to stay here, Bella? With Nessie?"

I blushed, he knew that I just didn't want him involved. He was too nice to call me on it or say 'no, I'm going', he should go. It would be wrong of me to want him to stay.

I let out a shaky breath, "I need you there with me."

Then who would watch Nessie, we were all needed there.

Dad saw the conflict in my eyes and volunteered, "I'll stay honey."

My eyes flew open in shock, "But… you're needed there."

He shrugged, "I was with Edward the whole time, he knows everything that happened."

My eyes went wide and I bit my lip, was I really that selfish? I looked at Nessie. Yes. Yes I was.

I sighed and nodded reluctantly to my dad, and I felt horrible about it. A tiny bit of disappointment was clear on his face, but as I took one more glance at Nessie, I found I had no choice.

I sighed again, leaning into Edward and he held me to him.

"Shall we go, love?" he asked softly.

I looked at mom and she nodded before we headed out of the door.

--

We got to the courtroom with about twenty minutes to spare and I bit my lip nervously. I'd never been in a courtroom before… I was more than nervous about it.

Edward was holding me close to him, and reassuringly rubbing my mother's arm at the same time. I smiled, I'm glad they had grown closer…

I stared idly at the place where they would call us up to testify.

**A/N- yeah… look… sorry, I'm only 14 and have no clue how a court case goes, I actually stayed up all night watching Law and Order SVU to even understand this much… so be gentle…**

I thought over that. It would be easier with Edward here and Nessie and dad safe at home. That was selfish of me and, quite frankly, I felt more than uneasy because of it.

I let out a shaky breath as the judge entered the room and I saw people fill in, I kept my eyes on the ground, trying not to see Mike or Marcus.

Edward sensed this, and tightened his grip on my shoulder, whispering distracting things in my ear that made me smile.

Suddenly, his voice faltered, and his grip tightened, I sensed that they had finally entered the room.

I gulped visibly and my breath started coming less and less evenly.

When I heard the sharp sound of the gavel hitting wood I reluctantly looked up to see a put out jury, a judge, and I looked to one of the long, mahogany tables to see Mike.

Marcus was sitting, surrounded by seven strong looking men, and he was looking straight at me.

No, not looking, he was _leering _at me and I looked away into Edward's shoulder.

The judge said words that my mind was too full to hear or remember, and these were the next words I heard.

"I call Renee Swan to the stand." A blonde woman spoke and I squeezed my mom's hand before she slowly travelled up to the stand.

The blonde's voice was intimidating, daunting, oozing confidence and free of failure. She scared me.

She looked odd sitting in the stand, Mike looking at her.

A man dressed in black walked up to her, holding a stack of Bibles.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, Renee Swan?"

My mother looked pale, and she lifted a shaky hand onto the Bibles. "I do." Came a voice that didn't sound much like her.

I felt Marcus' gaze on me, and I hoped it wasn't half as strong as the gaze Mike was fixing on my mother.

"Now, Mrs. Swan, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it true that you were locked in a room with Mike Dellings for five years?"

My mom gulped, and leaned into the small microphone, "Yes."

"And, Mrs. Swan, to what extent did the torture Mr. Dellings put you through go to?"

My mom looked at me nervously and then pursed her lips before leaning in again, "Sexual assault and starvation."

Edward, knowing me all too well, covering my mouth before I could scream out, my tears poured onto his hand and he held me close to his chest while I mutely sobbed.

"Hmm, and Mrs. Swan, will you tell me the exact day that you were abducted by Mike Dellings?"

My mom gulped, "Apparently, the same day as my daughter was by his son, Marcus."

The questioner nodded, "No further questions."

My mom stood and walked towards me again, regretful as she took in my sad form, I gave her a week smile and a hug and she sat down again.

"I call Bella Swan to the stand."

My eyes widened and my feet felt like they were glued to the ground as I tried to command them to move. It felt like I was spinning, like when you're at your father's work and you spin in his office chair for hours. That's what this felt like. My breath felt like it had stopped completely and I barely registered my own movements as I walked up to the stand.

I sat in the wooden chair, feeling awkward as everyone in the room scrutinized me, excusing Edward and my mother of course.

I was sworn in by the burly man with the Bibles.

The questioner turned to me now, and I realized that she was even more intimidating than when I wasn't being questioned.

She looked down confidently at a sheet with writing I couldn't read in front of her, and then glanced at me.

"Ms. Swan, you are the daughter of Renee Swan, correct?"

I nodded, keeping my eyes glued to Edward's face for the comfort that his gaze could give me.

"Yes."

She sighed, "And you were raped by Marcus Dellings and ran away the same day your mother was abducted?"

I closed my eyes, trying to block the things out that hurt, and I was sad to think that those were the things I had to talk about.

"Yes."

She nodded again, pursing her lips and looking the sheet over again, nudging her sleek glasses up her nose after skimming the page.

"Hmm. And the rape baby's DNA was traced back to Marcus Dellings."

I gasped, glaring at her with fire in my eyes. She backed up a little, and damn right she should have.

My daughter wasn't just a 'rape baby' she was my everything.

"My _daughter_ is his… daughter as well, yes." I spat at her.

She composed herself and spoke again, "Yes, well, do you have reason to believe that the reasons you and your mother were targeted by Marcus and Mike were connected?"

"Yes." I said, nothing here was new, and this woman was really starting to get on my nerves.

"No further questions."

I blinked, staring at her in confusion. She just restated the facts, didn't she want to know everything that had happened, or had the police briefed her? Anger boiled inside of me. She knew everything that she had asked me, did that mean it really wasn't all that necessary for me to be here.

I balled me hands up into fists, walking back into the bench, gripping Edward's arm as tight as I would grip her neck, which he didn't really appreciate.

The lawyers walked up to the judge, murmuring to each other in tense voices and making arguments.

I tensed, digging my head into Edward's jacket.

"I call Edward Cullen to the stand."

Edward squeezed my knee, and walked up, got sworn in, and I don't really remember much after that.

All I really remember about it was crying into my mom's shoulder, when Edward was up there. I didn't want to hear what he had to say, for fear that it would make me feel even more guilty for putting him in this position… or learning what he had been through would kill me and I knew that.

I forced myself to listen, to understand what they were saying.

"And do _you _have reason to believe that Mike and Marcus Dellings are guilty?"

Edward looked annoyed, as if he had to repeat something.

"Yes… I do…"

The questioner sighed, "No further questions."

Edward stepped off, coming to sit by us again.

I may not have heard some of the things he had said… but I didn't need to to know that they probably had been a waste of his time…

The questioner murmured something to the person next to her and then fisted her hand, and stood up again.

"I call Mike Dellings to the stand."

I tensed up, _this _is probably the part that would be of interest to me.

I saw Mike walk up to the stand, and I glared at him when he did so. When he was sworn in, I didn't like the way he looked mocking when he said he would tell the truth. Every person with a brain could know he was going to lie straight through his teeth. I pursed my lips.

"Now… Mike Dellings, how do you plead?"

He crossed his arms, smirking, "Innocent. Because that's what I am, innocent."

I sneered and the questioner sighed, "Tell me Mike… why were you at the scene of the crime then?"

He huffed, "It was my son, Marcus… it was all him, I came to turn him in… but you guys beat me to it."

My mouth dropped straight open at his blatant lie. Not only was it a lie… but why would you turn in your own son… when probably more than half of it was your fault.

"Mr. Dellings, your son, Marcus, was in prison at the time, he wasn't even there."

Mike's eyes widened, "Yes, yes… but he had asked me to come and 'keep up his business' and I came to turn him in and save the girls."

"And what exactly was this 'business', Mr. Dellings?"

He gulped, actually looking nervous. "Well… Marcus… he-"

"And why would Marcus have a house full of thousands of girls, torturing them? Surely that couldn't have happened all by itself… you can't expect us to believe that you're telling the truth, can you?"

Mike looked weak, so she continued, "Do you have some sort of grudge against women… is that why you locked them all up?"

He sneered at her, "It wasn't fair! It was _her _fault!"

Mike pointed straight at me and I gasped, along with the rest of his audience.

"She _killed _Marcus, she turned him down and he was never the same! I wanted my son back! I gave him thousands and thousands of women, but he still only wanted _her!_"

"Is that a confession Mr. Dellings?"

He seemed not to have heard her and stood up, shaking, "I travelled fucking _everywhere _and brought women, beautiful women, back for my son. But no one matched up to Bella, of COURSE NOT!"

He was still screaming at me as the guards pulled him away, kicking and screaming. He spat at me on the way out and I was in shock.

All of those women… there… because of me… Megan, she was tortured because of me… along with thousands of others, and only because Marcus couldn't handle a little bit of high school rejection…

I was brought out of my stupor by the gavel hitting wood, "The jury has declared Mike and Marcus Dellings of kidnap and rape, and are sentenced to death by lethal injection."

"Oh thank God." I whispered, pulling Edward into me and digging my head into his neck.

That was when the revelation hit me that I'm never going to be bothered again.

--

We had driven home, filled with happiness, and when dad had heard the news, he went ballistic, overjoyed; just like the rest of us.

Once we had all settled down a little, mom and dad… well… they were looking at each other in a way that told me I didn't want to know what they were thinking about. I had scrunched up my nose and gave Edward a look that told him I didn't want to be in this house tonight.

By the look on his face, he thoroughly agreed, and we gave them the excuse that we wanted to be alone, and took Renesmee with us to a hotel room.

I got the feeling that my mom felt a little guilty about sending her daughter off to a hotel with her daughter and her boyfriend, but I could tell she wanted to be alone with dad, and that I would be safe with Edward.

So here we were, in the hotel room.

I plopped down on the king-sized bed we had in the room that Edward insisted on getting, Edward sat down next to me, gingerly holding a sleeping Renesmee in his arms.

I smiled at the sight of them together, the look of happiness and pride Edward's face held as he looked down at our daughter; it warmed my heart.

He rocked her back and forth, and glanced up at me, his lips containing the tiniest hint of a smile.

The double room we got allowed us to put Nessie in the other room and finally get some peace and quiet.

We placed her carefully in her bed, surrounded by pillows, and went back to the main room.

Edward sat down and motioned me over to him. I pushed off of the doorway, closing it quietly, before I came to sit in between his legs, resting my head on his chest.

He pressed his lips against my neck.

"You did it, Bella, and I am _so_ proud of you."

I found myself smiling, and my hand reached up on its own accord to tangle itself in his hair.

I _had _done it, I realized. I had visited my parents, and gotten Mike and Marcus on death row. Life could finally be drama free… and Nessie could be… well normal.

I gasped and great delight overcame my features, I also realized what else that meant. Suddenly I felt shaky.

I flipped myself over so that I was straddling Edward's lap and he looked startled as my lips attacked his neck.

I spoke in between kissed, "Edward… you know… I visited my parents…"

He growled lightly as he caught onto the meaning of me words, forcing my lips back up to his with his hands and kissing me with a new vigor.

"You got me there, baby." I whimpered a bit at how low and hoarse his voice sounded.

He snaked his arms around my back and forcibly pulled me onto the bed, attacking my lips and my neck with fervent kisses.

**I hope you all liked the ending :)**

**I want you to know that the epilogue will be up soon, and if you have any questions, shoot me a review and a PM and I'll answer them all.**

**Make sure to put me on your alerts so that you can read the new stories I'm putting up!**

**EPILOGUE UP SOON.**

**Chapter question- WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER A GOOD VALENTINE'S DAY PRESENT? A BAD ONE?**


	27. Epilogue

**Disclaimer- I don't own Twilight.**

***sigh* never thought I'd get to the ending… and quite frankly it's more than depressing…**

**Thanks for all the lovely support and- oh… I get it, you wanna read this later…**

**Okay…**

**Reviewer(s) of the STORY-**

**Angel27eyes- you've been here for me since the beginning, and I'm thankful for your support… I don't think I would've gotten this far without it!**

**Aljasice (anna)- thanks for helping me start this, girl, and I know you get annoyed with me for putting this ending off… but I wouldn't have started without you… well… I actually told you about it after I loaded the first chapter… but whatever!**

**Flora73- and I cant forget you! You are an amazing reader!**

**Just Me and My Vamps- thank you for your awesome reviews, you were there too ;) and I haven't forgotten.**

**Raven Jadewolfe- you were always there too, and I LOVE your idea for a good valentine is amazing. Thank you!**

**Gabby- you helped me write my third chapter, so thank you for that!**

**Twilightluva786- I'm really happy you've enjoyed my pride and joy, and want to thank you for being such an amazing reviewer!**

**2lazy2login- thank you for your reviews as well! They made me laugh! To answer your question, I had the Cullens keep some of their vampire abilities, like when Edward heard Bella when she told him she loved him. Nessie is highly developed in the book, so I transferred those abilities.**

**Vampiregurl- thanks for being there too! oh my goodness doing this is making me cry, I feel like I'm making a graduation speech. **

**Teambellaedward- thank you too, loyal reader! Lol.**

**Alunelovesyou- thank you as well! You were amazing with the reviews and the praise, you were one of the people that made me warm and fuzzy inside!**

**Logannrileysmommy- thank you because you were one of the people that convinced me that 2,000 words for a chapter wasn't long enough!**

**Lynne0731- I love over enthusiastic reviews, and you gave me a lot!**

**Bluebaby3296- you were over enthusiasts too and you made me happy!**

**Jeni56790- thank you for all of the support! I love your reviews and when I go back and read them they make me happy!**

**Lisario- your flattery was almost too much to bear and it made me giddy (I don't think people use the word giddy anymore… sorry.)**

**Barbie2- another loyal reviewer, looooove you too!**

**Mdf- great thanks to you too!**

**TwilightLover1217- you made me smile so many times it is hard to count! You also convinced me that a month before updating was, indeed, crazy! So thanks!**

**(by the way, thank you to all of you who persuaded me that waiting so long to post was absurd.)**

**17- thanks for the support!**

**Juliemoonstar- I know I get random on you sometimes! But thank you!**

**I3MR1525- I get your initials now… makes sense! Good luck to you guys by the way! Thanks, luv and tater tots!**

**And ugh, I'm wasting too much space for this… so other honorable mentions-**

**(in no particular order)**

**, TwilighterRose, berdb, did not resurface612, twilight4real, carolw77, Whitlockslittlepixie, experiment422, CitizenCullen25, bacmel79, Twilight Junkie, RikaCullen, ForeverRose123, april123, Azu~ (Special thanks), Little Ms Misery, 1sarina, Mz-Star, ., tears will fall, Avery Shane, cancer613, MellophonegirlAzhure (for you I have to give special thanks), Twilightaddict4949, Kornygirl, 'biggest-twilight-fan' (special thanks FOREVER), britxfluva, sicily volterra, ardana, LoriVampp (special thanks), collegegirl123 (special thanks), Sara McCarty Cullen (special thanks), I'm Edwards Bella, Monique1991, Kynicole, ChOcOlAtE rAiNbOw Cd'S (special thanks), Patshawna, ladyidori (special thanks), JUSTaBELLAwaitingFORherEDWARD, Estelicia, Night Orchid, edwardhot89408 (SPECIAL THANKS TO INFINITY AND BEYOND), TaylorxCullen, Tacara, Isabella is Online, Madison Elliot, TwiGurl4lufe, EdwardsElla, tuckeyjnp1, DashDoll, Vampirelizgurl (special thanks), Kiara-sun, Applefromatree, harvestmoon18, XxX Just for Kicks XxX, bluebaby15, miki natsuko (special thanks), wackynicolecsu, Mjb44, DoubleAgentA, twilightgirl80, EdwardNBella4eveer, OECD, Cant Get Enough Twilight, ashley1023, LOVE IS A GIFT, tw1l1ght4ev3r, VaMpIrExPiXiE, and MrsRobertPattinson95.**

**Okay, if I forgot anyone, I'm sorry… I think I got everyone though, again, thanks for the support.**

***sigh***

**One last time…**

**VOTE FOR PEDRO-**

B.P.O.V.

**1 year later…**

I paced the room, rubbing my temples and muttering to myself that I shouldn't be nervous…

Alice placed her hands on my shoulders, glaring at me, "Bella! Get a grip! Nothing bad is going to happen, my plan is flawless, and the only thing ruining this is you!"

Her pep talk worked a little, but I held my stomach still, trying to rid it of the butterflies, more like dragons, that possessed it.

Alice shook her hands in front of her face, looking annoyed, and like she wanted to strangle my nervous ass.

She looked down, taking a deep breath, her cornflower blue silk dress moving as she shifted.

She roughly grabbed my shoulders, pushing me in front of another mirror.

I smiled slightly at my reflection, I had to admit I looked beautiful.

My dress had a sweetheart neckline, it was strapless. It had a diamond accented belt around my torso that descended down to my feet.

My wedding dress was perfect, exactly as I imagined it to be. My hair was freshly curled, looking like it sparkles in it. My makeup wasn't more than I could handle and I loved Alice for it.

I spun around and hugged Alice to me, "Oh, thanks Alice…" I muttered into her shoulder, "I know I can do this."

She smiled at me, "I know you can, too. Besides, you can't mess up because Edward is such a dork that he won't care."

I giggled, and a few seconds later, I found myself taking my father's arm, and having the doors open for me.

Alice winked at me, before sending my almost 6 year old daughter down the aisle, smiling brightly and scattering flower pedals everywhere and skipping up the aisle.

I smiled at her, and tried to see around Emmett to see Edward, who was obscured from my view.

I think Rosalie, one of my bridesmaids, had positioned Emmett that way just for that reason, but she just smiled at me.

Once Nessie had finished, Alice glided down the aisle, and, what looked like reluctance, separated from Jasper, Edward's best man.

Next, Emmett and Rosalie walked forward with grace, separating at the end just as Alice and Jasper had.

My eyes immediately landed on Edward, whose face broke out into a tremendously blinding, brilliant smile, his eyes sparkling with an emotion of so much longing I'm sure it matched my own.

It wasn't until my proud father nudged me forward that I realized I was supposed to move.

Edward only smiled wider.

It seemed like forever until I reached the alter, and Edward took my hand eagerly form my father, looking at me intensely.

I vaguely heard my mother in the background, sobbing happy tears.

We had recited our vows, and said the 'I do's' and kissed as man and wife, and were overjoyed to move onto the reception.

Edward and I had danced and danced for what seemed like forever, but in a great way, until Alice had decided it was time for toasts and it wouldn't be right unless she went first.

She dragged Jasper to a standing position, and he smiled and wrapped his arms around her, as she clinked her glass repeatedly with a knife, making me blush as she captured everyone's attention.

"Everyone, attention please!" she began once she knew she had everyone's attentions, she smiled, "I want to dedicate this toast to my brother. See, my family was always so sure that no one would come along for him, he would never let us set him up or anything… but now I'm glad… because along came Bella," she smiled again, "the best thing that ever happened to Edward, and completely changed his life. here's to your happy lives, may it last forever!" she raised her glass and everyone cheered.

Edward beamed at me, pulling me in for our thousandth kiss as man and wife, and I happily obliged.

We kissed and we danced, and the last song I remember being played was Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin.

**6 years after the court case…**

"They look so peaceful, Edward…"

He chuckled, quietly, "They're babies, Bella, they are peaceful."

I smiled, "They have your green eyes."

He pulled me to him, "They have your chocolate hair."

"Isaiah has your hair type…"

He smiled against my neck, "How do you know, Bella? They're babies, they have no hair…"

I pursed my lips, "I just know."

He chuckled silently, "okay, Bella, all I know, is that with you as a mother, they will be incredibly handsome."

I bit my lip, "Only with you as a dad."

He sighed, "Nessie proves that wrong."

"Yeah… but she got more of my traits."

He spun me around, "Which is _exactly_ why she is beautiful."

I pulled him close to me, sitting on the edge of the crib next to our new twin boys.

"I love you, Edward." I whispered and he looked into my eyes.

"Marrying you was the best decision I ever made."

My heart fluttered and I bit my lip to keep from smiling too much. He brought up the pad of his thumb to smooth it out.

"Don't… that's my job." He winked at me and I laughed quietly.

"Oh my gosh! Mom! Dad!" Nessie scream/whispered to us as she entered the room. "I met the _cutest _guy at school today… his name is Jacob Black and he asked me out for tomorrow! Can I go, can I go?!"

We both stared blankly at her, blinking and freezing up.

Edward used his literate mouth, "Uh… but… huh… and…"

I rolled my eyes and gulped, "But… Ness… you're only 10…"

She crossed her arms defensively, "Almost 11. Besides, you guys will be busy with the twins, come on! Just let me have some fun…"

My eyebrows knit together and I shifted my weight, trying to be understanding…

"Well… what will you guys be doing?"

Edward cut us off, "But honey, you need to understand that when you are alone with a boy-"

Nessie rolled her eyes, "D_ad, _we won't be alone… we're going bowling with Noah, Devin, Natalie, Tessa, Marc, and Ronda."

Edward tried to wipe the smile off his face, but failed, "Oh. Then have fun, sweetie."

She tried to squeal quietly, but failed as well, jumping up to us to hug us.

We hugged her, and she whipped out her cell phone, "Jake! Yeah, they said yes! I know and-"

He voice faded out as she walked away and I groaned, burying my head in Edward's shoulder.

"I didn't think we'd have to deal with this until much, much later…"

"I'm just glad that they're idea of a date isn't mine…"

He chuckled, somewhat flustered, "Well… didn't you do the same thing?"

I rolled my eyes, snuggled into him more and looking at Isaiah and Nick.

"If that's some weird way of asking me of my romantic past, Edward, then no, I didn't. You were and are the only guy I ever wanted, and went with… willingly at least."

Edward growled, "That doesn't count…"

I smiled, "Well then that makes you the only guy in my life."

He grinned, pulling me up to his chest.

**11 years later after the court case…**

"I know, Jacob… but my mom said no, I know, right? She's is a total buzz kill," Nessie spoke directly at me, "Honestly, she is ruining my life!"

I rolled my eyes, her overdramatic qualities were getting on my nerves.

My daughter giggled at something her boyfriend said, "I know, I know, but she still is…"

I pursed my lips, putting my hand over hers and hitting the end button.

"That's enough, honey, dinner's on soon and your father will be home soon, and I don't think he would be too happy to find his fifteen year old daughter harassing her thirty-one year old, pregnant mother."

She groaned as I slid the phone away, adjusting my weight so that it was more comfortable.

"M_om, _daddy always sides with you! Why can't you just let me go to the party with him, all of the cool people are going to be there!"

I smirked, pulling the infamous mom line, "Honey, if all of the 'cool' kids jumped off of a cliff, would you?"

She glared at me, "Maybe! If it would show you that I'm not five anymore and I can take care of myself!"

I closed my eyes, "I know you can… I just don't want you making the same mistakes that I did."

She glared, "I'm not going to go out and get pregnant like you mom, I'm not stupid!" her eyes widened as soon as she screamed it, knowing that was below the belt.

We both knew it wasn't my fault, "Getting pregnant with you was never stupid or a mistake, God! Why does everyone keep harassing me about that!"

Our eyes snapped toward the door as we saw Edward, my husband of ten years, walking towards us, looking just as perfect at 36 as he did at 25. He had a frown on his face as he looked at his daughter. He set down his briefcase and took off his jacket and walked over to us.

He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my head in his neck as his lips pressed against my neck, just like he always used to do.

"Whatever it is this time, Renesmee, your mother is right and I don't care about whether you think it's fair or not."

We all paused when we heard cries erupt from upstairs, Edward sighed and looked at Nessie, "Go check on your little brothers."

She rolled her eyes, and yet again exercised the use of her acerbic tongue once more, "Yeah, sure, because babysitting five year old twin boys is precisely what I want to do on a Saturday night… not go out with Jacob."

She trudged up the stairs and I leaned back in my chair, pulling Edward to sit next to me and he leaned in to kiss me.

I pulled away with a sigh, "Edward, what the hell did I do wrong with her?"

He chuckled, "Don't be too harsh on her, I seem to remember a girl not too much older than she is now, with an attitude much worse than hers." He joked with me and I crossed my arms.

I groaned, "Fine… you win… but in my defense, I had a lot more to be upset about than she does!"

He crawled on top of me, gingerly to that he didn't touch my stomach, holding a baby girl, and spoke so his lips touched mine with every word he spoke.

"That's true… unless Nessie has cannibals after her. But I also seem to remember that a certain someone didn't get an attitude change until _after _the cannibals."

I buried my head in his neck, "Fine… but I don't remember being that annoying."

He chuckled, "My darling, you were never an annoyance."

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him.

"I love you, Edward."

He smiled, "As I love you." He stroked my hair.

Suddenly the oven dinger went off and I prepared myself to get up, before Edward berated me for it.

"Bella, you shouldn't be moving that much… you're pregnant."

I smiled, "Yeah… but dinner…"

"I'll get it, you really should rest more."

I rolled my eyes to his back as he walked toward the over, taking out the chicken.

"yeah, I'll make sure to do that…"

He smiled and put the tray of chicken on the island and walked back to me.

"Bella-"

I groaned as we heard screams from upstairs, "Isaiah, Nick! I am _so _telling on you! Mom's going to be pissed!"

I winced at her language towards my sons, and got up, ignoring Edward's protest and offer to go up instead.

"This, Edward, is why relaxing isn't allowed."

I kissed his naïve, 36 year old, gorgeous head as he groaned, following my up the stairs.

**20 years after court case…**

I groaned, "Edward… I don't want to…"

He chuckled, "Bella, you should be happy! It's your birthday!"

I huffed, "And I'm turning forty…"

He chuckled, "And I'm 45, just imagine what you'll say in 60 years, when you turn 100."

I smacked his arm, "_So _not funny, Edward."

He pursed his lips, "Your sons and daughters threw you a party, and I think that they would be sad to hear that you aren't going…"

I wrinkled my nose, "they're so young… they won't remember."

He sighed, "Bella, Alexandra is 9, Isaiah and Nick are 14, and Nessie is 24… I'd say they are hardly young…"

I groaned.

He cupped my face with his hands, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs as he looked lovingly into my eyes, "Bella… you may be turning 40, but you, if possible, are more beautiful, than you were at 19. And no matter how many faults you find in yourself, I find 5 times as many amazing things."

I smiled slightly, raising my hand to hold his, he leaned in to kiss me and I responded immediately.

It had been almost 21 years, and his kisses and touches were still electric, and I still responded like I did at 19.

I tangled my hands in his hair and his fingers stroked the back of my neck.

My fingers found their way to the bottom of my shirt, and Edward looked amused. He cocked his head to the door and motioned to the party downstairs

Great, now I got myself all… excited… and bothered, and my own kids were cock blocking me…

He smiled and took my hand, "Let's go…"

I let him pull me downstairs and immediately, I was attacked with hugs from my kids.

"Happy birthday mom!" they all shouted simultaneously and hugged me again, I tried my best to look enthusiastic.

"Thanks guys, I love you!" I hugged them again.

"Wait… where's Nessie?"

She wasn't here, Isaiah rolled his eyes, "She's sexing it up with her new husband, Jacob… she said she would be late."

I went to cover Alexandra's ears as Edward winced at the not so innocent thought of his daughter.

"Isaiah Cole Cullen! Watch your mouth!"

He shrugged and suddenly, Nessie and Jacob came in.

"Sorry I'm late mom! Jacob and I slept in." she said nervously.

Isaiah snorted, rolling his eyes at them and stuffing another doughnut into his mouth.

Nessie glared at him and went to hug me as Jacob went for a handshake with Edward, who, obviously, was still trying to get the imagery out of his head, and groaned at Jacob.

Alexandra chose that moment to ruin my birthday.

"Mamma… what does 'sexing it up' mean?"

Nessie gasped, reddening and Jacob coughed, and Edward hung his head in his hands.

Nick groaned, "Why is this family so unusual…"

I laughed, "Because you have me as a mother, now somebody go put in a movie! Edward get popcorn! Isaiah watch your mouth. And Lexi?" I put my hands on her shoulders, "Not now."

She looked disappointed but shrugged and went to sit on her favorite brother's lap, Nick.

I smiled and curled up next to Edward.

"I love you, Bella." He grinned at me and I tightened my grip on him.

I looked him in the eye, "By the way, I'm in love with you."

**It's OVER… it's depressing… I'm quite upset that it is…**

**Tears are flowing.**

**I think the chapter question is pretty obvious…**

**WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SCENE IN THIS STORY? **

**REVIEW!!!**


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